Unstoppable
by Brunette Beauty 1
Summary: Megan is an ordinary girl who's come to The City of Townsville for the summer to spend time with her father. The Townsville villains all want to destroy her when they heard she's befriended the Power Puff Girls... except the leader of the Gangreen Gang.
1. The City of Townsville

This is the story of Megan Carlson-Brody, an ordinary fourteen year old girl whose parents were divorced when she was younger. She lives with her apprehensive mother and her step father in New York City throughout the year, but then visits her easy going father every summer. Her father has just recently moved to The City of Townsville where he works as a therapist at an Anger Management workshop. Find out what happens when Megan spends her summer in Townsville.

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

The City of Townsville

Chapter 1

"Are you sure about this, Megan?" my mom, Mrs. Anna Carlson asked me when she, Daniel, and I got out of our big SUV. She had worry lines on her forehead like she always did when she was stressed out. Anna was a very pretty woman, but she was so cold and serious on the inside that it showed on the outside, causing her prettiness to be less obvious. She had shoulder-length red hair and wore make-up a lot.

"Yeah," I said, nodding. I was sure I wanted to see my dad, Richard Brody, for the summer. I hadn't seen him in a year. My mom hated my father. They were complete opposite forces of nature. She was as tough as nails and he was as light as a feather. She was night and he was day. Get the picture?

"Have a fun summer, darling," Daniel, Ma's new husband, told me, kissing me on top of my silky brown hair. I inherited my brown hair from my dad. Richard might not have had a lot of hair, but he had a _little_ bit of hair. He wasn't _completely_ bald.

"Thanks, Daniel," I said, forcing a smile.

Mom wanted me to start calling Daniel 'Dad', but I just couldn't bring myself to call him that yet. He wasn't my dad.

"What if he doesn't feed you?" Mom asked, obviously referring to Richard.

"Mom, I can cook myself," I reminded her, adding an eye roll to the end of my sentence. "If worst comes to worst, I'll order a pizza."

"That's probably all he eats," she muttered.

We were parked in Richard's driveway. Anna asked Daniel to ring the doorbell for her, which was very awkward. New husbands weren't supposed to ring the doorbells of ex husbands for ex wives. Luckily, neither Richard nor Daniel was very sophisticated, so they wouldn't know the difference.

"Hey Richard!" Daniel said when my dad swung his door open.

"Hey there!" Richard said, patting him on the back. Then Daniel did the same. It was some sorta "manly greeting" they liked to use.

I took a moment to study the differences and similarities between them. Both of them were quite laid back and casual. Daniel stood there in his Hawaiian t, shorts, and star-shaped sunglasses while Richard stood there in his Barney pajamas and Bugs Bunny slippers. The only difference between them, really, was that one had curly hair and the other one had hardly any hair at all.

"Hello Richard," Anna said in a reserved tone of voice, hesitantly approaching her ex husband. She looked just as embarrassed as I was for seeing Richard in his jammies and bunny slippers. "Do you go to work dressed like that?" she asked curiously.

She was never afraid to use freedom of speech.

Richard chuckled uneasily. Even he took offense to this remark. "Well, no. And I only work on Friday nights, so I have a ways to go before then."

Anna smirked. I knew what was going through her mind right now: _My ex husband's an unemployed weirdo. _

"Bye, Megan," she said, giving me a sympathetic squeeze around my abdomen. "Call me on my cell if you want to come home."

"I'm gonna be fine," I assured her.

She nodded and then she and Daniel got back into their SUV and drove off. Anna rolled the window down and waved at me insanely fast, like she thought she was never gonna see me ever again. I waved back and then smiled up at Richard.

"Hi, Megan," he said, smiling.

"Hi, Dad," I said.

"Let me help you with those bags," he said, bending over and lifting one of my suitcases off the ground. "Do you think you can handle the rest?"

"Yes," I assured him. "Thank you."

He took that suitcase into the house. I was gonna follow after him, but I took a moment to observe the neighborhood. All the houses looked the same. They were all ordinary looking houses with cream colored walls, burgundy doors, diamond shaped windows, brown roofs, and gray chimneys.

Some man living next door smiled brightly and gave me a friendly wave, while watering his grass. A few houses down a bunch of little kids were laughing and riding their bikes. Across the street there was a white haired woman with a dark tan holding a round plate with a pie on it. And there was a dog on the side of the road, wagging its tail and panting its tongue.

It all looked like something that could be a part of an old 50's show. Everyone was so cheerful, so simple, so friendly, so sickeningly infatuated with their little lives and their stereotypical neighborhood.

And then one house caught my eye.

It was the house next to the house with the tan lady holding the pie. This house I was looking at didn't look like the other houses. It wasn't tiny with beige walls or brown roofs or chimneys. It was tall. Tremendously tall and the walls were _white_. The kind of clear white you'd see in a laboratory. And there were three big blue windows in the middle of the house that were shaped like ovals. And then the front door was rectangular and bright red. This house stood out amongst all the others. It was like a prince in a garden of frogs. It was different.

"Megan?" Richard called. "Come inside."

"Okay, Dad," I said. "I'm coming."

I carried my bags inside and studied the living room. It was an ordinary living room. There was nothing unique or special about it.

There was a barstool over by the counter, and some soda that was half empty. There was a pathetic little television set in front of an old couch that smelled. The rug was moldy and the lighting was dim. And it was really warm in the house. Almost stifling hot. I walked over to the air conditioning and lowered the air one degree. Now it was like a tundra. I couldn't win for losing.

I guess this was what a house was like that belonged to a man who only worked Friday nights.

"Your room's through that hallway there," Richard said, pointing at the hallway. "You can put your stuff in there and decorate it however you like."

"Thanks, Dad," I said smiling.

I entered my room. It was old and empty looking. It smelled like sweat. I could tell that it had been some sorta gym or workout room before Richard found out I was moving in for the summer.

There was a bed in the middle of the room. It didn't look very uncomfortable. A spring was sticking out of the mattress. I put some effort into pushing it back into the mattress, and it was far enough in there, that I guess I wouldn't notice it when I slept that night.

I emptied my suitcase and duffel bag and sat my stuff down on a wooden desk and a bookshelf that Richard had just put in the room before I arrived.

I immediately felt homesick.

I missed my luxurious bedroom from my condo up in Manhattan, which I had due to my ma's high paying career as a lawyer and Daniel's high paying career as a TV executive. I didn't even know what Richard did for a living. It must not have been very great since he wasn't exactly living in a castle.

I entered the claustrophobic, roach-infested bathroom, brushed my teeth, combed my shiny brown hair, washed my face, took an Advil, and got dressed into my blue pajamas with short sleeves and short pants. I always wore those to dinner.

Richard took a plate with cold pizza on it out of the freezer and set it down on the table. "Are you ready for P-I-Z-Z-A?" he asked, trying to sound cool.

"Yeah, sure," I said, trying to sound interested.

I sat down at the dinner table which was more like a coffee table. And by the way, the chairs were beanbag chairs. Beanbag chairs! My dad should have won the award for the most casual man alive.

We munched on our cold pizza (which wasn't that bad, actually) without a word for a few minutes until I blurted curiously, "What's your job?"

"I'm glad you asked," he said. And I knew he was. He set his pizza down on the table and leaned forward. "I teach this class."

"What kinda class is it?" I wanted to know. "A class for kids? A class for adults? A class for old people? A class for disobedient pets?"

"No," he said. He took a deep breath. "You meet a lot of interesting characters in your life, particularly here in Townsville. So I run a class every Friday night for Anger Management. I teach troubled citizens about ways to control their anger."

"Wow, Dad, that sounds _brilliant."_

I was shocked. You'd think Richard would be working at some Wendy's or McDonald's, not as a therapist/teacher at an Anger Management class.

"Thank you," he said, looking flattered.

"So what are their problems?" I asked curiously. "Do they have bad lives, bad jobs, bad experiences? Are they depressed? Are they sick? Are they on medications? What's the deal with them?"

"Uh, it's a little more complicated than that," Richard explained. "These people I see are even weirder than your typical weird person."

"Wow." I was interested. "Well, can I… come… sometime, if it's not too much trouble?"

Richard looked uncomfortable. "Why?"

"I wanna see what you do," I pointed out. "I wanna see these people. I want to help you help them with their problems. I wanna get involved."

"Megan, honey," he said, sighing a troubled sigh. These citizens and people I see are…almost _dangerous._ I don't really… want you to-"

"Dad, please," I insisted. "I've dealt with weird people before."

"Megan, when you see these people, you're not gonna like it," he pointed out. "You're gonna wish you hadn't asked. They're beyond our help."

"Then why do you do it?" I wanted to know.

"It can't hurt," he said with a shrug.

_"Exactly!"_ I agreed. "That's why I'm helping."

"No, Megan," he groaned, rubbing his forehead impatiently. "You shouldn't want to come. It's just not safe. I don't want you to help me."

"I'm helping and that's final," I snapped.

Out of all the stubborn and headstrong fourteen year olds in the world I was probably the most stubborn and headstrong of them all. I always got my way. _Always_. Why should tonight be any different?

It wasn't.

"Fine," Richard sighed. "What harm could it do anyway?"

"No harm at all," I said, feeling satisfied.

"So…" he began in a cheerful tone of voice. I could tell he was about to change the subject. "What do you think we could do to spend time together this summer?"

"You could show me around Townsville," I suggested. "I'd love to see the whole city."

_"Okay,"_ he said, again, using his stressed out tone of voice that I hadn't heard him use before tonight. "But you're gonna have to stay by my side. This city isn't as safe as you think."

"Dad, it can't be much worse than _New York,"_ I chuckled.

"Megan, I'm serious," Richard argued.

"Dad, where do you think we are? Gotham City? No Joker or Catwoman's lurking around, okay? Everything's gonna be fine."

"This is just like Gotham, except _worse!"_

"Dad, Dad, _Dad!_ Calm down!" I laughed. "Sorry to have gotten ya riled up or anything. Fine, I'll stay by your side all summer. Maybe tomorrow we'll start by having you introduce me to people you know."

"That sounds nice," Richard said smiling.

"By the way," I began, remembering something I had just remembered. "Why are all the houses in this neighborhood the same except for the tall white house with the blue windows and the red door?"

Richard looked excited to hear this question.

"That's no ordinary house," he chuckled. "That house wasn't created by an architect or a construction worker. That house was created by an _inventor._ Professor Utonium."

"He's an inventor?" I repeated in interest. "Wow, no wonder the house reminded me of a laboratory."

"The Professor has three daughters who have just graduated kindergarten," Richard explained. "Their names are Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. They're such sweet girls. Especially Bubbles. What a cutie."

"They sound like cool people," I said nodding.

"Yeah," Richard agreed. "Oh! And the Professor works a lot so the girls are home alone. He recently asked me if I knew anyone who'd be willing to baby-sit for him. Do you think _you'd_ be willing?"

"Oh my God! Yeah!" I replied, actually loving that idea. "I've never worked a job before. That sounds great! Do you think I can meet the Professor and the girls tomorrow?"

"Yes," Richard said. "It'll give you a chance to learn what they like, what they dislike, and just overall learn something about them. The Utonium's are the nicest family in this neighborhood. And they're really helpful. They always lend a hand when I need help with something."

"That's great. I can't wait till tomorrow," I said, gobbling down the last bit of pizza. "That just sounds awesome. It'll be my first job."

Richard smile. "Yep. Your first job."

"And my _second_ job will be helping you in the Anger Management class," I reminded him.

He sighed uneasily. "We'll _see,"_ he pointed out.

I wasn't worried. I always got my way.

"Night, Dad," I said, standing up from my chair. I approached him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Night, honey," he replied. "I'll see you in the morning. Make sure to get an early start and make breakfast for yourself. I usually sleep in."

My mom always woke up at four in the morning and woke me up along with her. Again, she and my dad were polar opposites. Richard frowned.

"Are you gonna give your ma a call before you go to bed?" he asked.

"Yep," I said, dialing my mother's number into my cell phone.

"When she talks to you does she yell at you or anything?" Richard asked. "Cause whenever I'm around her I feel like I'm in boot camp."

I laughed, walked into my bedroom, and crawled into bed. Anna answered the phone.

_"Hey, Megan, you wanna come home?"_ she asked.

"No, Mom," I replied. "I'm just calling to wish you a good night."

_"Wait a second, what did you have for dinner?"_

"Cold pizza."

I heard her sigh. _"Did you even attempt to tell him that you're supposed to have spaghetti, Chinese noodles, and broccoli?"_

"No, Mom, I wanted to try what Dad eats," I explained. "I know that sounds corny and all, but I actually like his lifestyle a lot."

A spider ran up my wall just as I said that.

_"Ugh,"_ Mom groaned. _"Make sure there aren't any bugs in your bed before you sleep in it."_

"Sure, Mom," I said. I checked the bed. Nothing.

_"It's late, honey,"_ Anna sighed. _"Mind if I hang up?"_

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Tell Daniel I said hi."

_"I will,"_ she said. _"Good night."_

"Good night."

She hung up and I got under the covers. The bed was hard as a rock, just like I had figured it was gonna be. I rolled over on my side, thinking that might have been better. I buried my face into my pillow, _trying_ to get comfortable. After about two hours of tossing and turning I finally fell asleep.

Then I found myself in what seemed like the middle of a dream. I was in my bed, so it must have been a dream of a dream. In the dream I was awoken by the sound of screaming outside my window. I ran over to the window and looked out of it.

There was nothing going on in the neighborhood, but there _was_ something going on out in the distance where the city and all the buildings were. There was a big fire. The screaming was coming from all the people that were nearby the fire. I kept kicking myself and hitting myself, trying to wake myself up. I wouldn't wake up.

Then some large robot flew through the city, shooting lasers at the poor innocent citizens running for their lives. "What the hell's going on?" I whispered.

Right then was when whatever was inside that robot laughed. It laughed loud enough for me to hear it all the way from the city in the suburb! It had the kinda laughter you would hear in a Disney movie- spooky and villainous. I realized I was scared, even though this had to be nothing more than a dream.

Why was the laughter so loud? It echoed off the walls of the buildings in the city, and it echoed off the houses in my new neighborhood. It belonged to a male (I was 99.9% sure), and it sounded a little bit like a Japanese Darth Vader (sounds crazy, huh?).

I gasped in horror when one of the city buildings actually collapsed! I could hear sirens coming from all directions and police men screaming at the citizens to back away from the fallen building. The robot kept flying around in the air, zapping whatever was in sight, but luckily, refusing to notice my neighborhood.

I tightly closed my eyes and opened them.

Could a dream really be _this_ vivid?

When things looked dire for the City of Townsville suddenly three flashes of light exploded into the sky and headed straight toward that flying robot! One of them was pink, one of them was blue, and one of them was green. Then it looked like the three flashes of light started beating the robot up!

Pow! Boom! Bam!

It was all so fast. So real. But how?

I covered my ears with the ends of my pillow and climbed back into bed, trying to ignore the sound of the fighting outside my window. I closed my eyes too, so they wouldn't stay interested in what was going on. I hoped I would just wake up. Or fall asleep. Whichever one that wasn't happening at the moment.

(In Chapter 2 Megan will meet the Utonium's.)


	2. It's a New Day

Today Megan meets the Utonium girls so she can get to know them before she starts baby sitting them. To her surprise Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup aren't your average kids. And so Megan worries she won't do a good job taking care of them.

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

It's a New Day

Chapter 2

Everyone loves the summer because you get to sleep in, right? Well, you _don't._ You're so used to waking up at six A.M. during the year that it kinda rubs off on you, so you don't wake up much later during the summer.

At the regular time of 6:00 I woke up, with the sunlight streaming in my window. I rubbed my eyes, did the morning routine in the bathroom, got dressed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, and ran by Richard's room to see if he was still asleep.

He _was._ How could anyone sleep?

I took his advice and made my own breakfast. All I had was some apple jacks and a glass of orange juice. It wasn't scrambled eggs or coffee, but it was something.

Actually, I was kinda glad Richard wasn't awake yet. If he was awake he would object to me taking a stroll around the neighborhood by myself. Since he was still asleep I could do it and he wouldn't even know the difference. I was sneaky like that.

So I snuck outside, on the lookout for anything that might be 'scary' or 'dangerous'.

A dog ran up to me and wagged its tail.

_Terrifying. _

"Hey, boy," I said scratching him under his chin.

He panted and stood on his hind legs, putting his front paws on my shoulders. Then he licked my face, barked once or twice, and ran away. He ran past the Utonium's house and past several houses after that.

"Hey!" some boy just a little younger than me with green hair, pale skin, and a mouth full of braces called to me. "Hey! Can you come over here?"

I didn't want to, but I did anyway.

"Yeah, wassup?" I asked, approaching him. He was reaching for something on a shelf in his open garage, that was too up high for him to reach.

"Can you get that for me?" he begged.

"Sure."

I stood up on my toes and grabbed the football that was up on the shelf. Then I handed it to him. "Here you go," I said kindly.

"Thanks a lot," he said gratefully.

"No problem," I assured him.

"I haven't seen you around here before," he said.

"I just moved in for the summer."

"I'm Bud Smith," the boy said. Then some little girl with a blond ponytail and a flowery dress ran behind him with a big smile on her face. "And this is my little sister Julie."

"Hey," I said, waving. "I'm Megan Carlson."

"Carlson?" Julie repeated making a confused face. "There aren't any Carlson's in this neighborhood."

"Oh." I just remembered. "Well, I'm Richard Brody's daughter. I'm fourteen years old. I came here cause I wanted to see what Townsville was like."

"It's nothing much," Julie said with a shrug.

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah," Bud laughed. "My dad's a dork."

"Oh. Wow."

I'd rather eat spaghetti with syrup for lunch than say anything against one of my parents.

"Bud? Julie? Come inside!" a woman's voice called.

"Just a moment, Ma!" Bud barked.

"Don't you snap at your mother like that!" his mother snapped. She came out into the garage, holding a plate of cookies. She was the lady I saw yesterday with the pie. She smiled at me. "Hello," she said in a sugary sweet voice. "Who are you?"

"I'm Megan Brody," I replied.

"Oh! Richard's daughter!" she said sounding delighted. "Nice to meet you. I'm Maryanne Smith. Would you like a cookie?"

"Yes, thank you," I said, accepting a cookie.

"I'm glad you met Bud and Julie," she said. "It's nice you're starting to meet some new friends. How long will you be staying in Townsville?"

"Depends," I explained with a shrug. "I was thinking just until the summer's over, but if I like it I might stay longer."

"That's nice," she said use that permanent smile neighbors liked to use. "Have you looked into any summer time jobs?"

"I'm not sure of anything yet, but today I was gonna meet the Utonium's," I said. "I might baby-sit the girls for the Professor."

Her smile faded. "How nice," she mumbled.

"Yeah," I said, a little confused by her reaction. "I heard they're really nice people. Do you know if they're up yet?"

"Uh… I don't know," she replied.

"Megan!" Richard called, running across the street to greet me. "I see you met Maryanne and Bud and Julie." He smiled and waved at them.

"She's a lovely girl," Maryanne giggled, sounding a little stressed. "Come on, kids. Let's go inside." Bud and Julie followed her inside the house.

"Megan, I told you not to leave the house without me," Richard scolded.

I scoffed. "Dad, it's just the _neighborhood._ It's not like I left for the _city."_

"And that's a good thing too," he said sternly. He paused and lightened up. Richard never stayed angry for over two minutes. "The reason I woke up so early is because the Professor gave me a call and told me we can visit now. They're waiting for us."

"Cool," I said, excitedly.

"And I even got dressed!" Richard bragged.

He spun in a circle for me to observe his outfit. He smiled embarrassedly like he just said something awkward. "Well, got dressed in something _nice,"_ he corrected himself.

A plaid t shirt and a baggy pair of jeans. Nice for _him,_ I guess. I didn't understand why he had to dress up for the Utonium's. He'd known them for a year by now. Probably just because _I_ was meeting them for the first time, and he wanted us to look nice together.

"Okay, so let's hit it," I chuckled.

I hoped he'd remind me never to use that phrase again. We approached their doorway and Richard rang the doorbell. I fidgeted nervously with my shirt. I needed to make a good first impression.

A small girl with long red hair in a ponytail that went down her back with a ribbon on top of her head answered the door. She had exotic eyes- they were very large and _pink._ To match her pink eyes she wore a pink dress with a black stripe in the middle. She also wore long white socks and black shoes.

She smiled up at us and said, "Good morning, Richard."

"Hello, Blossom," Richard replied.

"We've prepared breakfast for you," Blossom said to him, side glancing up at me. "Pancakes and buttered toast."

"My favorite!" Richard said excitedly.

"That's why we made it," Blossom chuckled.

This kid blew me away. I'd never met such a poised human being in my life- and this girl was _six years old!_

We followed her through the living room to get to the dining room.

"The Professor's really excited about the new baby-sitter," Blossom told Richard, while we were still in the living room (which was nicer than most living rooms, by the way). "He hasn't been talking about anything else since you called last night."

"Yeah, I'm excited too," Richard agreed.

"So, Megan, I heard you're gonna be starting high school when the summer's over," Blossom said, looking right at me.

God, she was so composed I was almost afraid to talk to her.

"Um… yeah," I said in response.

I could tell that she could sense my social awkwardness because she looked away from me immediately and continued talking to Richard. She didn't seem stuck up about my skills though. But of course, she seemed like the kinda person who would be good at hiding what she's thinking. For all I know she could have been thinking,

"_This wallflower's gonna be taking care of me and my sisters? How's she gonna survive? Maybe I should baby-sit her." _

Or maybe she was cutting me some slack.

It wasn't my fault I didn't feel comfortable around super-confident people.

"Here we are," she said when we entered the dining room. I figured she was probably speaking to me since Richard already knew where the dining room was. Richard smiled and sat down in between a good looking man dressed in a white coat (probably the Professor), and a little girlwith short black hair, big green eyes, a green dress with a black stripe in the middle, and the same socks and shoes as Blossom. To the girl with the green outfit's right was a girl with an identical outfit (except the dress was blue), big blue eyes, and blond pigtails.

"Hello, Richard," the Professor said.

"Hey Professor," Richard replied.

"Hi, Mr. Brody," the girl in the green and the girl in the blue said in friendly little voices.

"Hello, Buttercup. Hello, Bubbles."

Blossom pat me on the shoulder, which was when I noticed that she didn't have any fingers. "You can sit down next to me and Bubbles," she said.

I was guessing Bubbles was the girl wearing blue. I nodded. Blossom seemed to think I was woozy, because she put her hand up on my shoulder as she escorted me to the table, as if she was thinking I was going to fall over or something.

"Hey! Wassup!" the girl wearing green said to me. "I'm Buttercup!"

"Hi," I said smiling.

"And I'm Bubbles!" the girl wearing blue said.

"Hello," I said, observing their personalities. Buttercup seemed aggressive and ready for action, while Bubbles seemed excitable and sweet.

"Welcome to our home, Megan," the Professor said, beaming at me. "I hope you like it."

"Are you kidding me?" I laughed. "I _love_ it. This is great."

"I'm glad," the Professor chuckled. "So, you're gonna be starting tenth grade?"

"_Ninth_ grade, Professor! _Ninth_ grade!" Blossom reminded him.

"Oh, yes." The Professor flushed red. "I just got confused since tenth grade was always the first year of high school back in my day. How things have changed."

I nodded politely. Just then was when I realized that I hadn't touched my full plate of pancakes and buttered toast because Buttercup was giving me a puzzled look, like I was some sorta Martian.

"Oh, sorry," I chuckled, smiling at her. I sliced one of my pancakes with my fork and knife to let her know that I did appreciate my breakfast.

She made a face, which didn't help me with my confidence, but then she finally looked away and seemed to have forgotten the whole thing.

Something tugged on my sleeve. It was little Bubbles. "Do you like puppies?" she whispered in my ear like it was some top-secret question.

"Yes," I replied.

She smiled widely at me and bounced up and down in her chair. Then she returned her attention to her food and ate up.

The Professor and Richard did a lot of talking, so the girls often looked at me, expecting me to say something. After all, we were gonna spending a lot of days together, unless they were to beg the Professor not to let me come ever again.

Suddenly the Professor looked at the girls and said, "Girls, don't you want to show Megan around upstairs?"

"Sure, Professor," Blossom said.

She got up, then Buttercup, then Bubbles. They walked over toward the hallway. They stopped and looked back at me, waiting for me to follow. I stood up, smiled at the men, and followed the girls.

"Show her our room!" Bubbles squealed.

"Yeah, our room is awesome!" Buttercup bragged.

"Okay," Blossom said.

On the wall by the staircase were a bunch of photos and newspaper articles of and about the girls. They were humanitarians. What _couldn't_ they do?

I entered the upstairs hallway, and the girls ran into a room with an open door. It was a beautiful room. It had pink walls, many stuffed animals, and a big bed in the middle with a pink, blue, and green blanket.

It was a dream for any girl who was gonna be starting the first grade.

"Meet Pooka!" Bubbles shouted, throwing a stuffed dog in my face.

"Hi Pooka," I said nervously.

She grabbed the dog away and ran over to her bed, throwing him down on the part of the blanket that was blue. Then she skipped over to the corner of the room by the window where she had a bunch of blank sheets of paper and crayons. She gathered them and brought them over to me.

"Do you like to color?" she asked eagerly.

"Yeah, I love to color," I replied.

"Great!" she squealed. "Cause we're gonna be doing a _lot_ of coloring!"

"We're also going to be doing a lot of make over's and styling," Blossom added. She was sitting in front of a small vanity mirror, brushing her long red hair. "We'll do that every so often."

"Sounds good to me," I said with a shrug. I approached the bed and lifted a small green towel. "What's this?" I asked curiously.

"_Mine!"_ Buttercup snapped, snatching the towel from me. "My Blankie!" She seemed mad.

"Sorry," I apologized. Never mess with a six year old and her Blankie.

I then spotted a little scrapbook sitting under the bed. I opened it and peeked inside. There was a picture of a monkey with a helmet on its head.

"What's this?" I wanted to know.

"He he," Blossom giggled, quickly taking the scrapbook away from me. "You don't want to look at that. It's nothing, really."

"Why's that monkey wearing a helmet?" I asked.

"Nothing," Blossom insisted. "That's… just… something from our imagination."

"Yeah, no big," Buttercup chuckled uneasily.

"We let our dreams take us to the extremes!" Bubbles added dramatically.

"I see."

I wasn't gonna take this any further.

"Professor!" Buttercup called. "Are you done with your breakfast yet?"

"Yes, I am, Buttercup," Professor replied.

"Good!" Buttercup said.

"What's the problem?"

"No problem. Just asking."

"Okay."

"Um… Megan?" Blossom said.

"Yeah?"

"Are you sure you can handle being our baby-sitter?"

Oh no. She _knew_ it wouldn't work.

"Yes, I'm _positive,"_ I lied.

"Okay," Blossom sighed. "If you say so."

I hoped she wasn't dissing me. I didn't like being dissed or embarrassed or insulted or anything like that. I was a very sensitive person.

"Let's go downstairs and talk to the Professor!" Bubbles suggested.

"Alright!" Buttercup exclaimed.

She started toward the door.

Blossom giggled and followed after her.

Bubbles tugged on my sleeve. I looked down. She held her little hand up for me to hold. I smiled kindly and held her hand as we walked down the stairs together.

"Hello, girls," the Professor said smiling.

"Hello Professor!"

"So, Megan, your father and I decided that you can come baby-sit next Monday."

"Sure," I said nod-shrugging. That was a ways away from now, especially since today was only a Monday or a Tuesday.

"And maybe you can come at around 2:00."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

"Yes, cause I'll have something to do at the lab that day. And I'll let you know if I need you to come back any other time next week."

"Sounds good," I said smiling.

"Good," he said. "Bye Richard."

"Seeya!" Richard replied. "C'mon, Megan."

"Okay," I said. "Bye." I waved to the Professor and the girls.

"Bye!" Bubbles squealed, waving at me.

"Did you like the girls?" Richard asked me as we walked back to our crummy little house that paled in comparison to the Utonium's mega home.

"It's hopeless, Dad," I sniffed in anger. "They don't like me. They don't think I can do this."

"Why's that?" Richard wanted to know.

"Blossom's a social flower!" I pointed out. "She smells insecurity the minute she's near it, and Buttercup is really, really tough. And bossy."

"You mean to tell me that you're… scared… of these six year olds?" Richard chuckled.

"No, I'm not scared," I argued taking a deep breath. "I'm startled. I'm startled that these girls seem so mature. So much older than they are."

"Change their minds," Richard advised. "You can do it. Remember. It's never too late to make a good first impression."

I couldn't help smiling. Richard hardly ever gave good, intelligent advice, but right now he actually made sense. "I'll try," I assured him.

"Good, I'm glad," he said, giving me a hug. "And they're really not as bad as you think. They're some of the sweetest girls you'll ever meet."

I hoped he didn't notice that I rolled my eyes.

"I guess so," I muttered.

"And they really do a lot for this city," he continued. I rolled my eyes again. I hated it when people continuously praised other people- especially when it was your dad praising three six year olds. He said, "They give so much of themselves everyday to help the citizens of Townsville. They're legends."

"Um…" I began, confusedly. "Are they robots?"

"Robots?" Richard repeated, trying not to laugh.

"They sound like super geniuses," I pointed out.

"No, they're just great," he said.

We arrived at our doorstep. He opened the door and we entered the house. After leaving the Utonium's house I now felt like anywhere else didn't have sanitary conditions or clean air.

"Is there anywhere you wanna go today?" he asked me.

"I wanna go to the city," he explained.

"No," Richard groaned.

"Why not?"

"I only go to the city on Friday's; on my way to work."

"So… you basically just stay in this neighborhood all week?" I asked in amazement. If I hadn't been thinking straight I would have added, "Wouldn't you lose your mind being cooped up in this boring hell hole six days a week?"

"Yeah," he said. "I just chill, talk to the neighbors, sleep, eat, and watch TV."

He really needed a girlfriend.

"Dad, I really don't want to sit around all summer," I said stubbornly. He blinked once or twice, defenselessly, wondering what to say back.

"You're _not,"_ he argued. "You're gonna baby-sit the girls."

"I need some action," I begged.

He thought for a long minute and then sighed. "We'll see," he said. "But we'll wait until Friday for you to see the city for the first time. Maybe afterward you'll see a lot more of it."

"Thank you! Thank you!" I said, giving him another hug.

I just wondered how I was going to survive Wednesday and Thursday without dying of boredom.

I ran over to my room to write in my journal. There was nothing else for me to do. I was so bored I could have fallen asleep with my eyes open.

"Megan?" Richard asked.

"Yeah?" I replied.

He paused and then said, "Please give the girls a chance."

I smiled and nodded. "I will, Dad."

He seemed satisfied and walked away.

Ugh, today wasn't even over and I just couldn't wait. I couldn't wait until Friday when I could finally get some action. I just wanted to see the city. I'd be counting down the hours.

I was ready for anything.


	3. Going to Work

On Friday night Richard takes Megan to the Anger Management workshop to show her what he does for a living. While Megan is there she meets the Gangreen Gang, who she was extremely annoyed with. But for some reason, she finds she is a bit interested in their leader.

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

Going to Work

Chapter 3

Then on Friday I was itching to go to work the whole day. I was dressed at six thirty in the morning. "Dad!" I said to him during lunch. "You have to get ready for work now."

He laughed. "Work doesn't start until six at night."

"I don't care!" I insisted. "I want you to get ready now!"

"Fine, fine," Richard sighed. "I'll get ready right when I'm done eating."

"And we should leave early so you can show me the city," I explained. "I want to see a lot of the important buildings. You have to show me all of them. I need to see them."

"Fine," Richard said.

I asked him to take me on the drive at five o'clock. He said that was ridiculous since work didn't start for an hour, but I told him I didn't care again. He sighed and took me.

"Welcome to the City of Townsville," he said, smiling, reading the large sign out loud. "Okay, so over there is the Mayor's office. The Mayor is a real great guy. Professor Utonium invited me to meet him one day when he had a meeting at his office. And his secretary is a real treat. Her name's Sara Bellum."

"Interesting," I said nodding.

"There's the bank," Richard continued, pointing to the bank. "You can never get enough security on that place. And the mall; it's got its own share of thieves, thefts, and shop lifters. And there's the power plant- holy cow!"

"What? What's wrong?" I asked.

"The power plant building's gone," Richard explained. "It used to be right there, but now it's not."

There were a bunch of police men and firemen roping the area off, and a bunch of citizens lined up in front of them, watching the construction.

Then was when I realized that the power plant building was the building that had been destroyed the night I had first gotten here. The robot- the lights- it couldn't have been real, could it?

"Dad?" I asked.

"Yeah?" Richard said.

"Does a robot attack the city a lot?" I asked.

Richard laughed. "Oh, _does_ it," he chuckled.

Then we passed the Townsville Museum. There was a large hole in the wall. "I guess there was a robbery there," Richard sighed.

How many robberies were there in Townsville?

Then there was Townsville Jail. Richard pointed at it and said, "That place is overpopulated. That's not a great thing."

Then we drove past a tall volcano with a large robotic eye on it. "What the heck is that?" I asked, pointing up at it.

"Oh, that's just MoJo Jo Jo's hideout," Richard replied.

"Who?" I said.

"No one," he said quickly. "Moving on."

We passed a park and then finally arrived at a building with a bunch of offices.

"Hold on," Richard said, as he got out of the car. "I gotta check if it's safe to get out of the car." He checked for a moment. I rolled my eyes. "Coast is clear," he told me.

We entered the building and got up on an elevator. Then we got on the ninth floor. We walked by a pretty lady with short white blond hair.

"Hello, Richard," she said in a sweet voice.

"Hey," he said shyly.

She smiled and walked away.

"Who was that?" I wanted to know.

"Ima Goodlady," Richard replied. "She's one of the nicest people at this workplace."

I shrugged. Then Richard walked into a room which was probably his office. It had brown walls and had a bunch of chairs that were in the middle of the room in the shape of a circle.

"Here's my workspace," he said trying to make his voice sound all business-like.

"Cool," I said, sitting down in one of the chairs. "How many people are you expecting to come here?"

"Five tonight," Richard replied. "They're a gang of teenaged hoodlums. But take my advice: don't stare. They don't take care of their skin much."

I wasn't sure I wanted to see them.

Then at six thirty, five teenaged guys entered the room. The first one had shoulder-length black hair, a jacket, a vest, and dark shades. The second one had long black hair, wore a sleeveless t shirt, a brown hat, and a pair of shorts. The third one was grotesque with bulging eyes and had his tongue out of his mouth every second. The fourth one was big and fat with short red hair covering the top of his head. The fifth one was tiny and Mexican looking.

The only thing that was really different looking about them was that they had green skin. Green! Maybe that was what Richard had been talking about when he said they didn't take care of their skin.

"You're late," Richard said to them, pointing to the clock.

"We had places to be," the one with the glasses said. He gave high fives to his laughing friends. I was guessing he was the leader.

"Well, those places aren't as important as our sessions," Richard snapped.

"Sssaysss you!" the second one said. He hissed when he spoke.

I was getting kinda mad now. But I never argued with people that made me uncomfortable, so I just kept my mouth shut as they laughed like idiots.

"I come out here every Friday night for you guys," Richard said trying to keep his cool. "I'm gonna teach you to use a little more respect."

The boys continued laughing wildly.

"Dad, just ignore their rudeness," I whispered. "You don't want to get them mad, so just try to talk to them casually without telling them they're rude."

I think the leader overheard me, because he was looking right at me from behind his shades.

"Okay, honey," Richard said smiling at me. Then he looked up at the boys. "So, boys, tell me about the important places you went tonight."

"We went to the grocery store!" the tiny Mexican one explained.

"That's good," Richard said. "Did you buy anything?"

"No!" the big fat one laughed.

"We sssstole!" the one that spoke in a hiss said. He took a bunch of candy out of his pocket and held it up in the air for Richard to see.

The one with the bulging eyes blew raspberries.

"Okay, let's talk about that," Richard said. He looked at the one that spoke in a hiss. "Now, Snake, why would you steal?"

"Caussse it'ssss fun!" Snake replied.

His friends cackled. Richard shook his head in disapproval. "No, Snake, what's the _real _reason you steal? You know it's not because you think it's fun."

"Well, I didn'tssss have any money," Snake sighed.

"You didn't have any money," Richard said nodding. "Did any of you have money?" he asked his friends. The grotesque one blew another raspberry and held a dollar up in the air. Richard nodded at him. "Ah, Grubber had money. Now, Grubber, don't you think you could have lent that dollar to Snake?"

Grubber blew another raspberry and handed the dollar to Snake. Snake took one look at it and said, "You give itsss to me _after_ we're out of the ssstore?"

"Big Billy and Little Arturo, did you have money?" Richard asked the big and little one.

"Uh… no, but I have a bear!" Big Billy exclaimed, waving a teddy bear in the air.

"I have cologne!" Little Arturo shouted.

"What about you, Ace?" Richard asked the leader. "Did you have any money to lend Snake?"

"Nope, I didn't have no money," Ace replied. He was watching me from behind his shades the whole time. "No money for poor Acers."

"Okay, so Grubber could-" Richard began.

"Yeah, yeah, enough about Grubber," Ace interrupted. "Who's our little guest right there?"

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

"Um," Richard said, glancing at me. "This is my daughter Megan."

"Hi," I said waving quickly.

"Hi, Megan!" Snake, Billy, and Arturo shouted, waving back at me. Grubber just blew another raspberry. Ace looked amused.

"Can we talk about Megan's day?" he asked.

"We're not here to talk about Megan," Richard said sternly. "We're here to talk about _you._ Megan wouldn't have come here if not to see me at work."

"Fine, then," said Ace, crossing his arms. "We'll talk about me."

"Good," Richard said. "What about you?"

"This morning I found something on the ground that looked like food," Ace explained. "So I decided to eat it. I put it in my mouth and tried to swallow it, but it seemed like it was trying to get free. It was squirming and trying to get out of my mouth."

_"Ew!"_ I groaned.

His friends laughed and gave him high fives.

"Did this really happen?" Richard wanted to know.

"Yeah it did," Ace declared. "Just give me a moment to barf it up. I'll prove it to you."

"Ew! Stop!" I begged.

"What's the matter?" Ace chuckled, raising an eyebrow at me. "Just ate? Maybe I should keep my big mouth shut."

"Great going, Ace," Little Arturo laughed.

"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Ace exclaimed excitedly. "Do you remember the time when Grubber hijacked that guy's car and then he ran over a-"

"I don't want to hear it!" I snapped.

"You _don't?_" Ace asked, fluttering his eyelashes sarcastically.

"You're sssssissssy?" Snake laughed.

"No, I just don't want to hear it," I said angrily.

"Boys, I have some homework for you," Richard said to the boys, handing them sheets of paper. They groaned when he gave them to them.

"We ain't never done no homework before," Ace complained.

"That's all gonna change now," Richard said.

"Oh boy!" Big Billy exclaimed, looking at the drawing of the boy holding a door open for a girl on his homework sheet. "Oh boy! That's nice!"

"Yes, it's very nice," Richard agreed. "I'm gonna teach you boys etiquette."

"What'ssssss that?" Snake asked confusedly.

"Manners," Richard replied. "It's having good manners. Men holding doors open for women. Saying please and thank you. Eating with your mouth closed."

"You need to teach that one to Billy," Ace pointed out.

His belligerent friends laughed heinously.

"Dad, why even bother?" I asked Richard. "It's hopeless."

"I don't think it's completely hopeless," Richard disagreed, shaking his head. "Billy there is always up for a challenge. And he's actually a pretty nice boy when you get to know him. He's just poorly influenced by those four."

"Do you even get paid for this?" I was curious.

"Uh…" Richard paused. "Well, a lot of the time the people that walk in here don't pay me. But Ms. Ima Goodlady out there always helps me out and pays me the amount I should have received."

But it seemed to me that Richard was wanting a whole lot more from Ima Goodlady than just a few extra bucks.

Richard focused again on the boys.

"Hey, guys," he said. "Looks like you're actually working. Do any of you have any questions about the worksheet?"

Ace raised his hand.

Richard rolled his eyes. "Yes?"

"What if ya can't read?" Ace asked.

"Well, if you can't read, you can give it to me and let me read it for you," Richard offered.

The four other boys cackled. Ace had an amused look on his face. "I never said _I_ couldn't read. I just meant what if someone couldn't read in general."

"Oh," Richard said.

Richard and I just sat there for the rest of the hour, watching as the gang whispered things to each other, passed notes, and did other disruptive things that were annoying. Once when I wasn't looking a paper airplane hit me in the head. "Hey," I said.

I looked up. Arturo stared back at me for a moment. Then he smacked Snake (who was passing notes with Billy) across the face.

"Ow!" Snake shouted.

"Shame on you, Snake!" Arturo scolded. You should be more careful where you throw things!"

"I didn'tssss do nothing!" Snake snapped.

"Hey, Dick," Ace said.

"It's _Richard,"_ Richard corrected.

"Yeah, whatever," Ace said, rolling his eyes. "I'm having a biological calling right now. And if you don't let me go, then-"

"Go!" Richard demanded. "By all means!"

"Thanks, Rich," Ace said, standing up and making a run for the door. "You're a real life saver. How will I ever repay you?"

He disappeared into the hallway.

Snake, Arturo, Billy, and Grubber stared at the door, silently. They obviously couldn't wait for their leader's return. They were obviously hopeless without him.

Ten minutes passed and Ace still hadn't come back.

"WAAAAGGGGHHHH!" Billy sobbed loudly. "Ace go bye bye! Waaaggghhh!" While he cried, Grubber pat him comfortingly on the back.

"Dad, I think I'm gonna go look for him," I said.

Richard gave me a look. "Why?"

"Cause these guys are annoying me and they'll probably annoy me for the rest of the night if I don't find their precious Ace for them," I pointed out.

"Okay," Richard said nodding. When I stood up he put his hand on my arm. "Megan, be careful," he whispered.

"I'll be fine, Dad," I assured him. I walked toward the door and exited the room into the hallway. "Ace?" I called, my voice echoing off the empty walls. "Ace, where are ya, buddy? Ace?"

I decided I would look first by the bathrooms where he said he would be. I approached the men's room and tapped on the door. "Are you in there?"

No response. I banged louder on the door. "Hey!" I shouted. "Are you in there?"

I heard laughing. Oh yeah, he was in there.

"You know I know you're in there, right?" I asked.

The door slammed open, almost hitting me in the face! I screamed and jumped back. Ace looked at me for a minute. He was holding a spray can in his hand. "What the heck you doin' standing by a big heavy door?" he asked. "You could get hurt."

"Your friends miss you," I explained. "What took you so long?"

"Doin' a little graffiti," Ace replied, shaking his spray can.

"Biological calling?" I quoted him.

"The mirrors wanted me to write on them so badly!" he said dramatically. "They were screaming my name! Ace! Ace! I couldn't refuse!"

I laughed. "Well, if you ever ditch your friends like that ever again I'm gonna kick your butt."

He raised an eyebrow. "That a threat or a promise?"

"You're exhausting," I groaned. "Come on; let's get you back to your friends."

"Gangreen gang," he corrected, walking beside me.

"Excuse me?"

"We call ourselves the Gangreen Gang."

"Oh," I said, pretending to sound interested.

"And how old are you?" he asked me.

"Fourteen," I replied cautiously.

"Too young for me," Ace sighed. "I'm seventeen. But Arturo's fourteen. I'm sure I could hook you guys up or something."

"Nah," I said, shaking my head. "That's okay."

No need for that.

We reached the door. I was about to open it but Ace leaned against the handle so he was blocking it.

"So you, uh, got any friends here in Townsville who you could bring here next week?" he asked.

"You're a pig," I said frowning. "And I don't."

"Well, that's just too bad," Ace said. "Too bad you ain't gonna hang with us, sometime, just you?"

"Yeah," I said smiling sarcastically. "I'm not gonna hang with you guys. You're juvenile delinquents. Who knows what kinda bad news you are? I've never even taken karate."

"So you're defenseless too?" Ace asked.

"Yep," I replied. "Just get out of my way."

He stepped aside and I turned the doorknob. We entered the room. His friends looked delighted to see him, and Richard looked delighted to see me in one piece. I sat down next to him immediately.

"Acey!" Billy exclaimed, jumping for joy, practically shaking the whole room.

"We thought we losssst you!" Snake cried.

"Never leave us like that again," Arturo said.

Grubber blew a bunch of raspberries.

"Gee, boys, gimme some room," Ace said frowning. "I was just out there doin' my business until Megan had to interrupt me."

I decided to ignore him. "Dad, can we go home now?" I asked. "I'm really annoyed."

"Yeah, sure," Richard replied. "Okay, boys. Have a good weekend. We'll meet again next Friday."

"Ah man!" Arturo whined.

"Do we really havessss to go?" Snake asked.

"We were just starting to have fun!" Billy pointed out.

"No, no, it's been a long night," Richard said taking a deep breath. "Megan and I are just gonna head home and you boys should do the same. Good bye. Remember to do your homework."

He nodded at me and we started toward the door.

"Hey, Megan!" Ace called. I turned around and stopped walking so he could catch up with me. He put his hands in his pockets and said, "You better look out for yourself, ya hear?"

"Relax," I told him. "You're just five very bad behaved boys."

"No, that's not what I mean," Ace explained. "We're not the only weirdoes in Townsville. It gets much weirder than us. And a young thing like you shouldn't be roaming these streets at night."

"Are you warning me or trying to scare me?" I asked.

He smirked. "A little bit a both," he replied.

I tried not to smile. "'Kay," I said, staring down at the ground.

"'Kay?" he repeated, lowering his shades.

"'Kay," I said again. I reached out and pat him on the shoulder. Then I turned around and followed my dad through the hallway. I tried to stop smiling. Why the heck was I smiling?

When Richard and I got in the car I saw the Gangreen Gang, walking nearby. They were probably heading back to wherever they lived to get into more trouble. Ace saw me and gave me a little wave. I couldn't wave back since Richard was sitting right there, so I just smiled silently to myself.

Richard took a deep breath when we were back on the road home. "I think I'm gonna have to leave you with the Utonium's every Friday, because I'm not having you come to work with me again."

This wouldn't happen. "Dad, why?" I asked.

"Those boys can be foul," Richard explained. "They've always been like that, but when _you_… when you came, it all got ten times worse."

I tried not to like that. "That's why I gotta keep coming, Dad," I said, making sure the pleasure in my voice wasn't too obvious. "I gotta keep them in line. I think they actually listen to me."

"I thought you were annoyed," Richard said confusedly.

"Oh yeah, I was annoyed," I said nodding.

Richard shook his head, mumbled something to himself, and then stared out the window. "I just don't think I would be doing the right thing, as a parent, if I kept bringing you back to that office."

"Dad, I _have _to keep coming," I insisted. I turned down Ace's offer to hang out with him, so seeing him at work on Friday's was the only way.

"Fine, fine, Megan!" Richard surrendered, throwing his hands up in the air. "Fine! You can come to work with me every Friday! I just don't know why you're so excited about it!"

I triumphantly beamed and then didn't say another word for the rest of the car ride. Until now I hadn't noticed that it was raining. Pouring, actually.

"Ugh! This rain!" Richard groaned. "I can't imagine how those boys stay dry."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"They live in a dump," Richard explained.

"A dump?" I repeated, surprised.

"Yeah, they don't have anywhere else," Richard said. "Unless they sneak into Pokey Oaks Kindergarten for shelter. I don't know."

I nodded and stared out the window, pretending that I was thinking of something else.

We pulled up in our driveway. Richard praised the Lord when he got out of the car. "We're in one piece," he told me. "That's proof there is a God. Car wrecks are extremely common in Townsville; especially when it's raining so hard."

We got into the house.

"Are you gonna call your mom?" Richard asked me.

"Uh, sure," I said. I grabbed a phone and dialed Anna's number. No one was there. "She's probably out on a date with Daniel," I told Richard.

"Oh, okay," Richard said. "Remember; on Monday you're gonna baby-sit."

"Huh?" I said.

"Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup?" Richard said. "Ring a bell?"

"Oh, right, right," I remembered. "Sounds good."

"Good night, Megan," Richard said in an exhausted tone of voice.

"Good night, Dad," I replied.

I headed upstairs to get into bed. "Wow," I laughed, unbuttoning my shirt, and taking it off. Then I took my pants off. I placed both my shirt and my pants on my dresser. I decided I would just sleep in my bra and underwear tonight. It wouldn't hurt.

The only thing that bothered me right now was that there really was a robot that attacked the city last Sunday. I hadn't just dreamt it. It had actually happened. Hopefully nothing would attack my house tonight while I was in nothing but my bra and underwear. I tried not to think about it.

But then I remembered the Utonium's. What if I was a disaster when I baby-sat on Monday? I would have to apologize to the Professor.

"I'm so sorry I was a bad baby-sitter. It's okay if you decide to fire me. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup are very mature and clearly able to take care of themselves."

Were they even going to give me a chance?


	4. On the Job

Today's Megan's first day for baby sitting Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. It is a misery just as she thought it would be. She doesn't believe she's cut out for doing a job like this.

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

On the Job

Chapter 4

I woke up at one in the afternoon that Monday, which wasn't great since I had to be ready for baby-sitting at the Utonium's in one hour. And I needed a while to make myself look presentable.

Thirty minutes later I was blow drying my hair so it would be as straight as possible. I looked okay, I guess. I was wearing eye shadow, a pair of blue jeans, and a black tank top.

"How do I look?" I asked Richard.

"Like a baby-sitter," he replied, proudly.

"Good."

We headed over to the Utonium's house. The Professor opened the door and smiled at us. "Hey, Richard," he said. "Hello, Megan."

"Hey there," I said. "Where are the girls?"

"They're inside," Professor replied. "I'm gonna quickly let them know you're here and then I'm gonna head off to work." He turned around and called, "Girls! Megan's here!"

The girls ran up to the door and smiled at me.

"Seeya, Megan," Richard said giving me a hug. Then he started home. The Professor waved to me and then got in his car to go to work.

"Don't just stand there!" Buttercup told me.

"Come inside," Blossom insisted.

"Okay, thank you," I said politely. I entered the living room. I knew I needed to say something so I decided to compliment their house. "I just love this living room," I gushed. "And this whole house."

"Thank you," all three girls said at the same time. They walked over to their couch and sat down on it. Buttercup turned on the television. There were two Muppet-looking creatures on the screen. One of them was hitting the other with a baseball bat. The girls giggled as if this was incredibly humorous.

"Since I'm your baby-sitter, is there something I'm supposed to do right now?" I asked.

Blossom turned around. "Um… you could watch TV with us."

"You don't want me to get you anything?" I asked.

Blossom shook her head. "We're fine."

I sighed. They didn't need me. I sat down on the end of the couch to Bubbles' right. I didn't really feel like watching these jokester puppets but the girls did, and I was the one invading their home.

"Hello!" Bubbles said to me during the commercial break.

"Hi," I said smiling kindly.

She jumped at me and gave me a big hug. "Aww," I said, returning the hug. "Thank you."

She was so cute. She continued hugging me until the commercial break was over.

The show finally ended at 2:30.

"That's just the greatest show!" Buttercup pointed out. "But they keep having reruns! Why can't they ever just make new episodes?"

"They _can't,"_ Blossom explained. "The show was canceled three months ago."

"Oh." Buttercup turned red. "I knew that."

I looked around at the living room while they discussed their favorite canceled show about the puppets hitting each other in the head with baseball bats. I wanted to say something, so I didn't seem like a complete mute. But I didn't know what.

"Hey, Megan," Buttercup said. "Did you see that rain on Friday night?"

"Oh yeah," I said nodding. "That was pretty bad."

"You're telling me," Buttercup agreed.

"It was a good thing too," Blossom pointed out. "Can you imagine all the crimes that could have been committed on a random Friday night like that if it were dry? I say we were lucky it rained so hard."

"Octi doesn't like the thunder," Bubbles said.

"Well, Octi can take a hike!" Buttercup snapped. "I _love_ the thunder! Bang! Bang! Boom! Boom! Crash! Pop! Loud! Noisy! Thunder!"

Bubbles hid under a pillow.

This was where I got to turn into the big, responsible adult. "Buttercup, cut it out," I told her.

All three girls stared at me for a moment, blinking their big eyes once or twice. Then Buttercup frowned and crossed her arms. "Cut _what _out?"

"You were scaring Bubbles," I said, hoping I hadn't said anything wrong.

"That's okay. Don't worry about it," Blossom laughed. "Buttercup _always_ tries to scare Bubbles. It's nothing new. We're all pretty used to it."

I knew that as the baby-sitter it was my job to make some rules around here.

"Well, whenever I'm here, Buttercup, you can't try to scare Bubbles!" I declared. "And we won't watch that show about the puppets hitting each other. It fills your minds with violence."

Buttercup scoffed. "You think watching that show fills our minds with violence? You should see the violence we see out in real life."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but you're not allowed to watch that show or try to scare each other when I'm in this house," I snapped.

Buttercup screamed in frustration.

"Calm down, Buttercup," Blossom insisted. "Megan's the baby-sitter. She's the one in charge here."

"But she's ruining everything!" Buttercup pointed out. "I thought she would be cool with everything we did since she's a teenager, but _no._ She has to be all tough and no-nonsense."

"Buttercup, when will you ever learn to respect your elders?" Blossom wanted to know.

I was only fourteen. I didn't want to think of myself as an elder just yet.

"Can we color?" Bubbles asked hopefully.

"Of _course_ you can color," I told her, smiling. She jumped up and gave me another hug. I hugged her back. Then she ran to her room to get a coloring book and crayons and came back.

"Now you're already picking favorites, huh?" Buttercup asked me.

She and Blossom sat down beside Bubbles and the three of them starting coloring in their coloring book. Bubbles looked up at me and handed me a blue crayon. "Color with us!" she insisted.

"Okay, I'll color with you," I assured her.

I sat down with the girls and colored in the picture of a whale that Bubbles had ripped out of the coloring book. I colored in the lines. Bubbles and Buttercup didn't. Blossom did. I still found it weird how Blossom was so advanced for her young age.

"This is the best picture of a flower I ever colored!" Bubbles gushed.

I looked at her flower. There were red zigzags all throughout the picture. Buttercup laughed. "You scribbled all over it!" she said.

"You did too!" Bubbles snapped, pointing at Buttercup's purple picture of a bat.

"I have another rule," I interrupted them. "You're not allowed to insult each other's drawings."

_"Ha!"_ Buttercup laughed in Bubbles' face.

"Hey! You started it!" Bubbles snapped.

"Girls, girls, please," Blossom said, waving her hands in the air. "Please stop arguing. It's bad manners when we have a guest here."

I didn't want to take sides so I just smiled.

I didn't feel like discussing the coloring anymore so I asked, "Are you guys hungry? Is there any snack I can make for you?"

"We're not hungry right now, thank you," Blossom replied.

"Okay, then," I said.

This was getting really awkward. I had no idea what to say or what to do. I let them play kickball outside while I called my mom.

"They're so mature," I explained, as I sat upright on the couch. "I don't think they even need me."

_"Tell your father you don't want to do this anymore,"_ Anna told me. She always blamed everything on Richard.

"No, that would break his heart," I pointed out. "And it's not even that I don't want to do it, really. It's just that I don't know how."

_"You don't have to,"_ Anna groaned. _"You can just come back home to New York, and never have to deal with Richard again."_

"That's not what I want, Mom," I told her.

_"Then what do you want, Megan?"_

"I just want to, maybe, try a little longer and then decide if it's completely hopeless. Can you just give me some time?"

I heard her sigh. _"Fine, Megan. If that's really what you want."_

"Thanks, Mom. Love you."

_"Love you."_

"Bye."

I hung up and walked outside.

I was startled to see that Buttercup was running around the subdivision at a wild, almost impossible speed. Bubbles was too far behind to catch her.

When Buttercup reached fourth base she did a victory dance. "Yes! Yes!" she exclaimed. She punched the air in Bubbles' direction. "You're out!"

"That's not fair, Buttercup," Bubbles sighed.

"Yeah, I know," Blossom agreed. "It's so weird! She's the only one in her own team and she still seems to be beating us."

"What is going on?" I demanded to know.

The girls stood in a line, embarrassedly.

"You don't want us to get competitive?" Blossom asked curiously.

"No," I said shaking my head. "How was… Buttercup… running so darn fast?"

The girls exchanged looks with one another.

"You _have_ to run really fast," Buttercup pointed out. "That's the whole point of the game."

I wasn't gonna push this one any further.

"Okay," I sighed. "I just didn't understand, that's all. Can you guys just come in for lunch?"

"Sure," the three of them replied politely.

They followed me into the house and sat down at their dining room table. "I don't really know how to cook that well," I told them. "So I'm just gonna get you…" I glanced at the counter. "Salad."

Buttercup made a face but I ignored her.

I grabbed three bowls (one pink, one blue, and one green), put some lettuce into them, and added some veggies. Then I poured some ranch dressing over them and handed them to the girls.

"You're supposed to mix the dressing," Buttercup said frowning.

"Oh, sorry," I apologized.

"That's okay," Blossom assured me. She turned to Buttercup. "We can do that, ourselves."

They could do _everything_ themselves.

Bubbles finished her salad quickly. She walked up to me with a big smile on her face.

"Thank you for the delicious salad!" she exclaimed.

"You're welcome," I said smiling.

"It is the bestest salad I've ever tasted!" she added.

"I'm glad," I said, relieved.

"Now I am going upstairs to play with dollies!" she explained. "You must come with me."

She reached up and held my hand. I followed her upstairs. Blossom and Buttercup weren't far behind. We all entered the bedroom. It looked just like it did the last time I saw it. Beautiful. I missed my fairytale bedroom in New York.

Bubbles emerged from a pile of stuffed animals on the floor. There was an octopus with a hat on her head. "This is Octi!" she explained.

"Hi, Octi," I said, holding the octopus for a moment. I studied him. "You must have had him for a while," I said. "He looks a little battered."

Bubbles took more offense to this than I would have hoped. "I only got him last year," she said in a small little voice.

"Oh," I said, embarrassedly. "My mistake."

"He's just been through a lot, that's all," Blossom said.

"He's been through a lot?" I repeated. I was hoping she'd explain. But she didn't.

Suddenly the phone rang. I picked it up.

"Hello?" I said.

_"Blossom?"_ said a little old man's voice.

"Um…no… this is Megan," I said.

_"Can you put Blossom on the phone immediately? This is urgent from the Mayor!" _

"The Mayor… wow," I repeated, impressed.

Blossom took the phone from me. "What is it, Mayor? ... Really? ... Really? … Uh oh ... We're on it! Come on, girls!"

The three girls ran toward the door.

"Wait, where are you going?" I wanted to know.

Blossom thought for a moment. "The mayor needs us to do something at his office. We kinda work for him."

"What?" I said.

"We work for the mayor!" Buttercup shouted. "Bye!"

The girls were out the door before I could say anything else.

I sat in front of the TV, waiting for them to return. Why did they need a baby-sitter if they already worked for the Mayor? I didn't understand. What was I doing here?

They came back two hours later.

"Why were you out so long?" I demanded to know.

"The job takes a while," Blossom said.

"No!" I said. "Listen, if I'm gonna be your baby-sitter, then _I'm_ in charge. You guys haven't shown me that yet. And if this continues any longer, then I quit."

Tears filled Bubbles' eyes.

This made me sad. "Sorry," I apologized.

Blossom and Buttercup looked sad too.

"I take that back," I said with a sigh. "I won't quit. I just want to be in charge. And when I'm in charge you can't be away for more than two hours."

"Thank you!" the girls said.

They ran upstairs to play dollies again.

I didn't follow. I wasn't in the mood.

Two hours after that the Professor entered the house. "Hello?" he said.

"Professor!" the girls squealed in delight.

They ran up to him and gave him a big hug.

The Professor laughed kindly.

"Hello," he said smiling. Then when he was done hugging them he looked up and said, "How was your day, Megan?"

"Good," I replied (the stereotypical answer).

"Good," the Professor said. "You know, I'm probably good for the rest of the week, so you don't have to come back until next week."

Music to my ears. "Okay," I said.

"Do you need someone to take you over to your house?" the Professor asked. "The crime rate's high, so Blossom can take you over there."

If she was gonna be my escort to my house, then why was I baby-sitting her?

"That's okay," I assured him. "I can get there, myself. It's really no problem."

"Okay," the Professor said, smiling.

"Bye, girls," I said to the girls.

"Bye!" they said waving at me. They all sat in front of the TV when I was at the door. I was surprised Bubbles didn't give me another hug. I shouldn't have been. I didn't deserve it.

The Professor waved to me one last time and I waved back at him. Then I opened the door and walked across the street to my house. I couldn't believe the crime rate was so high that I needed an escort to walk me across the street.

It got me nervous. I gasped at every small noise when I walked over to my house. I got there safely and knocked on my door.

Richard opened it and I went inside.

"How was your first day of baby-sitting?" he asked me.

"Oh, it was a blast," I said.

"Do you really mean that or are you being sarcastic?" he asked.

"What do you _think,_ Dad?" I asked. "I wasn't cut out to be there. They can totally fend for themselves. So I was just basically humiliating myself."

"Megan, that's not what _they_ think," Richard assured me. "Anyway, does he want you to come back tomorrow?"

"No," I said triumphantly. "He wants me to come back next week."

"Oh, okay," Richard said.

I climbed upstairs and got into my bed. I stared out my window at the city, and at where the power plant building used to be before the robot took it down.

On Friday night the Gangreen Gang didn't show up at the work shop. This made me angry. It made Richard angry too. He had drove out all the way to work for nothing. At least Ima Goodlady came in the room and wrote a check to Richard for all the money he deserved.

"Here you go, Richie," she said in a sugary sweet voice.

"Thank you so much, Ima," he said gratefully.

"No problem, angel," Ima replied.

She smiled at me before she left the room.

"I can't believe they'd do this," I said, shaking my head in disappointment.

"I _can,"_ Richard muttered.

"Dad, you really need to get another job," I said loudly.

He didn't say anything for a moment and then stared out his window. "I'll think about it," he said. I could tell he was nervous about going anywhere new in the high crime-rated city of Townsville.

I was furious at Ace. I thought he would come.

I was also furious that they would just walk all over my dad. Richard didn't stand up for himself. Ever. He _always_ let people walk all over him.

"Don't worry, Dad," I said, so many schemes running through my brain. "I'm gonna fix this."

"You're gonna get me a new job?" he asked.

"No," I said. "I'm just gonna fix it."

I knew what I was gonna do tomorrow; Saturday night. I was gonna go on a little trip to the dump.


	5. Signal in the Sky

Megan tries to make reasoning with Ace and the other Gangreen Gang members, but then learns the hard way that it wasn't such a great idea. The Power Puff Girls rescue her just in time before she gets into serious trouble.

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

Signal in the Sky

Chapter 5

The next day at five o'clock I told Richard I was gonna hang out at the Smith's house for a little while. He seemed confused as to how I was suddenly friends with Bud and Julie. I really wasn't, so it was hard to come up with an explanation, but I did.

"Julie's a friend of Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, and she hung out with us a little while on Monday while I baby-sat," I explained.

"Okay," Richard said. He bought the story.

"So I'm just gonna go," I told him.

"Okay," he said.

I got dressed into a pair of blue jeans and a jacket. Then I ran outside, taking an umbrella with me, because it was raining again.

I walked over to the bus stop and sat down on a bench, waiting for the bus to come. My umbrella got splashed by a car that drove by.

Finally the bus came and I hopped on. I got off when the bus stopped at the museum, because the dump was right behind the museum.

I took a deep breath and came to a tall chain linked fence. How was I gonna climb this? I never climbed one of these before. But I was determined to get to the other side, so I hopped on (leaving my umbrella behind me), and climbed up.

It wasn't too easy. It took about twenty minutes because I didn't want to hurt myself. But I finally got over. I was in the dump now and there was no turning back. I heard a dog bark and a cat hiss. Then something knocked a trash can over. It was me.

I couldn't find them out in the dump so I was about to give up. But then I saw a little shed-type-building. They were probably in there.

So I approached the shed and knocked on the door. It opened and Snake stood in the doorway. He smiled wickedly at me.

"Good evening," he said in a creepy voice.

"Hi," I said, hiding the fear in my voice.

"Are you here for any certain reassssssons?" he asked, curiously.

"I need to see someone," I said.

"Okay," Snake giggled. He turned around and called, "Hey Ace, sssomebody'sss here to sssee you."

"What?" Ace's voice said. He sounded annoyed.

"Pleassse," Snake said, bowing. "Come insside."

"Thanks," I said frowning. I entered the shed as he held the door open for me. When I entered the main room Ace, Arturo, Grubber, and Billy were all sitting at a round table, listening to loud rap music.

Ace didn't even look up when I came, but the others looked shocked to see me.

"Ace, I need to talk to you," I said sternly.

He finally looked up and lowered his shades.

"Well, well, well," he said, setting his legs up on the table. "Look who decided to crash."

"Shut up," I snapped.

His eyes widened in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"You didn't show at work yesterday," I pointed out. "Why didn't you? You were supposed to be there."

They all started laughing one at a time.

"And, uh, is that a problem?" Ace asked.

"What do you mean?" I wanted to know.

"Well, you're kinda mad I didn't show," Ace laughed, shrugging his shoulders. "Were you hoping I'd come?"

"Where are you taking this?"

"Did you want _me _to come in particular?"

"I don't know where this is going."

"Do you have feelings for me?"

"No!" I shouted. "I… I… just don't really like it how you told my dad you were gonna show up, and then you didn't. I don't like people taking advantage of my dad."

"Awww," all five of them laughed.

"What a sweetheart!" Ace exclaimed mockingly. "She came all the way here just to stick up for her daddy-waddy!"

I glared at them. "I'm getting out of here," I said, starting toward the door.

"Wait! Wait just a minute!" Ace snapped.

"What do you want?" I yelled.

"Ya just got here!" Ace pointed out, approaching me. "Why don't ya stay for a little while, huh? Ya know, just relax. Stay for the night?"

He tried to put his arm around me.

I punched him.

"Ow!" he gasped.

"You're just an idiot," I told him.

He growled angrily. "You annoying little-"

"You guys are _all_ pathetic!" I said. "Pathetic nothing's that can't do anything right! You don't even have a decent home!"

"Hey shut up!" Ace snapped.

"Be quietsssss!" Snake agreed.

"You don't know anything!" Arturo added.

Billy started crying.

Grubber spat on the ground.

Ace clenched his fists. "Do you have anything _else_ to say about us?" he asked me.

"No, I think that's pretty much it," I replied.

"It is?" Ace said.

"Yes," I said. "I said what I needed to say. So if you excuse me, I'm gonna head back home, and I don't need to see your ugly faces ever again."

I walked over to the door and opened it. Then I slammed it shut. I felt satisfied with myself. I said what I needed to say, and they didn't do anything about it, so I was fine.

I stuck my hands in my pockets as I walked through the dark, creepy dump. Luckily the Gangreen Gang _were _the harmless wimps I thought they were.

While I reached the middle of the dump I heard the shed door slam open and then shut. Uh oh. I turned around and saw them slowly walking. They were pushing each other jokingly and laughing. They were walking in my direction, but were moving too slow to actually be following me.

To make sure they weren't, I started walking a little bit faster. I turned around, and it turned out they were now walking a little bit faster too. Then I started power-walking, and then they did too.

Then I got really nervous. I started running.

They were running too. I made a run for the chain linked face. When I was almost there I accidentally tripped over that same trash can that I had knocked over when I first came. Startled, I crashed down to the ground. I heard them laughing. They were getting much closer now.

I gasped and forced myself to stand up again. That wasn't very easy to do because my leg was throbbing. I must have really injured it. I limped when I made my way to the chain linked fence.

Just then they caught up with me. Snake shoved me into the side of an old car. Arturo jumped up in the air and pulled my hair. Grubber spun in a circle and spit anywhere but I got out of the way. Big Billy shook the car from side to side.

Then Snake grabbed me by my shoulders and held me against the old car. "Ssssay goodnight, sssssssisssster," he said.

I struggled to squirm free, which didn't even work anyway. I thought he was gonna do something but he didn't. He seemed to be waiting. Then Ace jumped down from the top of some old boxes. I could only see his face when lightning flashed in the sky. Snake let me go so Ace could have me to himself. Ace stood so close to me that his chest was touching mine and he was breathing in my face. He put his arms around my waist and pulled me close a moment. Then he breathed in through his nose and smiled. Then he slowly loosened his grip on me and let me go.

"Sorry it couldn't work out between us, sugar," he said in a soft, sexy voice. Then he held his fist up in the air like he was going to punch me!

I closed my eyes and waited for the pain.

I heard a punch but I didn't feel anything!

Ace yelped in pain and fell over backwards! His shades flew off his face and hit the ground as well. Then suddenly Snake went flying up in the air and accidentally hit Billy in the stomach head-first! Then Arturo fell into the trash can and Grubber's tongue was tied. What was going on?!

Terrified, I looked up above me. There were three little girls levitating over the ground with lights of color (pink, blue, and green) coming from under them. And they weren't just _any_ three little girls. They were Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup!

I gasped and turned around. I wanted to run away but my leg was in too much pain at the moment.

"Tsk, tsk, Gangreen Gang," Blossom chuckled, crossing her arms. "Haven't you ever learned anything about chivalry?"

Ace groaned and rolled over on the ground.

"I'll take that as a no!" Buttercup said.

I meant to go somewhere but Bubbles grabbed me by my shoulders and lifted me up into the air before I could go anywhere. Then Blossom and Buttercup followed her and we were high in the sky now! And I was afraid of heights!

"Hey, come back!" Ace shouted angrily. "I wasn't finished with her!"

"Oh my God!" I screamed, staring down at my legs, which were dangling below me. "_AAAGGGHHHH!!!!_ Put me down!"

"Sorry, Megan, but we're afraid we just can't do that," Blossom said firmly.

So many questions were whirring around in my brain right now. My head hurt! I couldn't stop thinking about the ground. Nice, solid ground.

I screamed the whole entire flight home. Then we finally got into the Utonium's house. They sneaked me upstairs so they could rationally explain everything to me.

"You were flying!" I said out of breath. "And you were kicking and punching them! And you had colorful light coming out of you and-"

"Yes! We know!" Bubbles said.

"Shh! Shh!" Blossom insisted.

"You'll wake the Professor," Buttercup said.

"It was wild!" I whisper-shouted. "I really should be getting home now. Richard will be worried about me."

I turned around to walk downstairs but my leg was in serious pain so I almost screamed. The girls flew again and carried me into their room. They sat me on the bed.

"X-ray vision!" Blossom shouted.

Their eyes turned red and they observed my leg.  
"Your leg's broken," Bubbles sighed.

"What?!" I gasped.

I'd never broken a bone before.

"Relax!" Blossom begged. "Buttercup! Fetch me some medical materials from the Professor's laboratory! Pronto!"

"On it!" Buttercup replied. She disappeared into the hallway before I could count to 1.5.

"What's going on?" I wanted to know.

Buttercup came back with a bunch of medical materials I'd seen in the past at doctors offices and hospitals including a cast and some gauze.

Blossom promised she'd explain everything while Bubbles and Buttercup helped each other to put my cast on.

"Bud and Julie came over to our house," Blossom explained. "They said that your dad called their dad and asked if you were over there hanging out with them, and you weren't, so they thought _we_ had something to do with it."

"So we flew over Townsville looking all over for you," Bubbles said.

"And we finally saw you with the Gangreen Gang," Blossom concluded.

"Not a very good group to hang around," Buttercup scoffed.

"It's interesting _you're_ saying that, Buttercup!" Bubbles giggled. "You used to like Ace and all."

I bit my tongue.

"Stop bringing up old stuff!" Buttercup snapped.

"Okay, okay, okay!" I said. "Now I know why you came and saved me, but how do you have super powers? What's the deal there?"

"I guess we forgot to tell you," Blossom said. "We're super heroines. We're the Power Puff Girls."

"The Powder Puff Girls?" I repeated making a face.

"No! The _Power_ Puff Girls!" Buttercup corrected.

"Oh," I said. "You're super heroines?"

"We fight crime," Blossom said.

"That's what we do," Buttercup said.

"Duh," Bubbles said.

"Well, excuse me," I snorted. "I've never heard of actual superheroes before except for police men and the heroes on television."

"Remember when the mayor called?" Blossom asked.

"Yeah," I replied.

"He was calling us because there was a robbery at the bank," Blossom explained. "We- ugh- Bubbles, you tell her the story."

"Gladly," Bubbles said. She cleared her throat. "Sugar, spice, and everything nice; these were the ingredients chosen to create the perfect little girl. But Professor Utonium accidentally added an extra ingredient to the concoction- Chemical X.

"Thus the Power Puff Girls were born! Using our ultra super powers, Blossom, Buttercup, and I have dedicated our lives to fighting crime, and the forces of evil!"

I just stared at all three of them for a long time afterward and then nodded. "I finally know what's going on," I said.

"Well, it's about time!" Buttercup exclaimed.

"I've finally figured it out."

"Can you please tell us what you've figured out?" Blossom asked.

"I've been brainwashed," I explained. "Tonight never happened. I was just baby-sitting you guys and you told a very elaborate, creative story that caused our imaginations to get carried away."

"A story?!" Buttercup repeated in outrage. "You think this is all just a _story?!"_

"Yes, created by three very creative six year olds," I said.

"What about your leg?" Buttercup wanted to know. "You think that a very creative _story_ broke your leg?!"

She had a point.

My leg couldn't have broken by a story.

"Okay," I sighed. "So I really _did_ go to the dump and get attacked by the Gangreen Gang. And then you guys really did beat them up and rescue me. And you really are the Power Puff Girls."

"Do you mind?" Bubbles asked.

"No," I said. "But all I want to know is why do you think you need me as your baby-sitter if you were the ones that rescued me? You guys can take care of yourselves, so why?"

The girls exchanged looks.

"Well…" Bubbles said.

"What we're trying to say…" Buttercup said.

"Is that we _like_ you as our baby-sitter," Blossom finished. "And we know it might be hard on you, but we enjoy you coming over and spending time with us."

"We kinda idolize you," Bubbles pointed out.

_"You_ idolize _me?"_ I asked in disbelief.

I would feel honored if I actually believed them.

"Yeah," Buttercup said nodding.

"Wow, that's pretty awesome," I laughed, still trying to believe them. "You guys are so important to the city and all, and you idolize _me."_

"We kinda want to be just like you one day," Blossom continued.

So they wanted to grow up to be shy, awkward, clumsy teenaged brats that fell for the wrong kinda guys and lied to their loved ones about where they were going to be at night.

"Does Richard know where I was?" I asked.

"No," Blossom replied, shaking her head. "We kept it a secret."

"We just told Bud and Julie that you were upstairs in the bathroom and then went looking for you," Bubbles said.

"Wow, you guys are awesome," I said.

"Thanks," Buttercup said smiling.

"I'm glad I'm your baby-sitter," I assured them.

"We're glad you're our baby-sitter too," Blossom said.

"Thanks," I said smiling.

"Do you want us to take you home?" Blossom asked.

"Um… no," I replied. "Not tonight. I'll go home in the morning. I think I might want to spend the night here with you guys."

"Okay," they said smiling kindly.

So they got into bed together and scooted over to make a space for me. I slept on the end of the bed next to Bubbles. They fell asleep within five minutes. I hoped they were having good dreams.

I felt safe being with these girls.

They were the most famous crime fighting heroines in the whole city of Townsville. And they idolized me! I'd never been idolized before.

I almost forgot about how much my leg hurt since I was so glad I had made some new friends that would actually look out for me even though I was supposed to be the one looking out for _them._ I wanted to see them again real soon if not tomorrow.

Now I would have to be extra careful going around in Townsville, especially if I was alone, without the Power Puff Girls by my side.

I'd heard many times that Townsville was a very crime-ridden city and I had been proven that when Ace betrayed me. I didn't know why I was so surprised he betrayed me. He always seemed like the type who would betray women.

Well, I'd learned my lessons. First of all, never lie, because someone's always gonna find out you were lying. Second of all, never go anywhere alone at night (especially a dump where a gang of juvenile delinquents like to live). Third of all, never underestimate the Power Puff Girls. Fourth of all, always _stay_ with the Power Puff Girls if you don't want to run into any creepy villains.

From now on, I would hang out with them as often as I needed to, so I could stay out of trouble. And on the plus side, one could get a lot of fame out of being friends with the Power Puff Girls. Yes. _Friend_. I no longer want to call myself "their baby sitter". I was their friend now.

And it wouldn't be just to take advantage of them and their fame and their safety. I was actually starting to get along with the girls. They were really nice; they weren't the arrogant brats I thought they were. I actually _liked_ them now. I no longer thought of them as threats.

I wondered what kinda dream I would have when I fell asleep that night. I just hoped it wouldn't have anything to do with the Gangreen Gang. They were exhausting.

Before too long I trailed off to sleep.

I was happy to fall asleep. I hadn't slept well in forever. My dream wasn't too vivid. All I remember from it is that it was about me spending time with my three new best friends. The Power Puff Girls.


	6. BadBad GuysTalking Things Over

Megan and the Power Puff Girls are best friends now. And she is going to have to hang out with them a _lot_ more often now, especially since her father has gotten a new girlfriend and he won't be able to spend a lot of time with her for a while. Megan meets the Amoeba Boys, a not-so-threatening trio of villains, and also, Princess Morbucks, who is, like the Power Puff Girls, in need of a baby sitter.

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

Bad-Bad Guys/Talking Things Over

Chapter 6

Two days later I woke up in my bed, got dressed, and headed downstairs. "Hey, Dad," I said in an upbeat tone of voice.

Richard almost dropped his coffee. I could tell I startled him. "Oh, hey," he said, turning around. He smiled. "Wow, you look so…so…"

"Energetic?" I guessed.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "What are you smiling about?"

"I'm gonna head to the city," I explained.

He frowned. "The city?" he repeated.

"The Utonium's are gonna come with me," I assured him.

He relaxed. "Good," he said. "As long as they're with you, you're fine. Those Power Puff Girls are great kids."

"Yes, they are," I agreed. "Um, Dad, I'm sorry I haven't been able to spend so much time with you lately."

"No, no, that's fine," he said. "I have plans today anyway, so it's good you're gonna get some fresh air."

My eyes widened. "Plans?"

Richard…plans…Richard…plans.

I didn't think he could _ever_ make plans.

"What kinda plans?" I wanted to know.

"I don't know. Just plans," he replied with a shrug. "Actually, Ima's gonna take me to lunch."

"Ima? Who's Ima?" I asked.

"Ima Goodlady from my work place," he reminded me. "Ring a bell?"

"Oh, right, right," I said nodding. "Forgot."

"She's a really nice woman," Richard said quietly to himself.

"Wait a minute," I said. "Is it a _date?"_

Richard looked around the room for a moment. "Yeah," he said. "Yeah, Megan. It's gonna be a date. Ima's single and I'm single. How can it hurt? Your mom's got that Daniel guy. Now it's my turn to get someone again."

"Wow," I chuckled. "I just didn't think you'd bounce back so fast."

"No, I think I've waited," he disagreed.

We just stood there for a moment with awkward silence. Then he finally said, "Well, you should go to the city with the girls now. In an hour or so I'm gonna head to lunch with Ima. But you go. Go."

I was surprised he was so anxious to get me out of the house. But I left. I shouldn't worry about it. Richard was the type of guy who stuck straws in his nose to look like a walrus. The date wouldn't go well. Ima would dump him and then it would just be me and him again. Right?

I walked over to the Utonium's house where Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup were waiting right outside for me. They had bright smiles on their faces and were waving excitedly at me.

"Megan!" Bubbles squealed, giving me a big hug. I returned the hug and pat her on the head.

"Hey, Bubbles," I said kindly.

"Wassup!" Buttercup said.

"Nothing much," I replied.

"So you want to go to the city, right?" Blossom asked me.

"Yes I do," I said.

"Cool," Blossom said. "We were thinking of going to Bonsai Gardens Park."

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's a park," Buttercup said.

I laughed. "Well, yeah, I figured that."

"So, let's go," Blossom said. "There's a bus stop over there."

"Wait," I said. "I actually thought we could fly again."

I was still kinda wobbly to walk anywhere with my broken leg and all. I was so surprised Richard hadn't even noticed it in the past few days, even though I was wearing a big white cast with Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup's signatures written all over it in bright colors. I guess he was too preoccupied in trying to impress Miss Ima Goodlady.

"You sure?" Blossom asked me.

"Yeah, I'm sure," I replied.

"Okay," she said. She and her sisters lifted me into the air and flew me over to the city. I looked down at the houses and buildings below me. We passed MoJo's tower. Blossom began speaking to Buttercup in a low tone of voice.

"What are they saying?" I asked Bubbles.

"Oh, they're just talking about MoJo," Bubbles replied. "They're saying he hasn't attacked Townsville ever since he knocked down the power plant building. They think he's planning something big and extreme and that sorta thing."

"I see," I said nodding.

I still didn't know who MoJo was, but he was probably very bad, whoever he was.

Then we got to a very Asian-styled part of Townsville with tons of Japanese restaurants, stores, arts and crafts places, etc.

And then there was the big sign that said _Bonsai Gardens Park_ on it.

"Here we are," Blossom announced.

"Bonsai Gardens Park," Buttercup said.

"The busiest place in Tokyo Townsville!" Bubbles explained.

"Sounds good," I said. I studied the park. There were a bunch of families there. They were swimming, eating, and taking pictures.

Then we landed on the grass. It felt good to be on solid ground, even though my leg still hurt!

"This is nice," I said.

"Yeah, we come here a lot," Bubbles said.

"Most of the time we come with the Professor," Buttercup explained. "He has picnics with us."

"Yep!" Bubbles squealed. "I have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches! Mmm, they're so good! They're my favorite! I can just taste them!"

"Sounds great," I said.

"I'm just glad there's no crime going on," Blossom sighed of relief.

"Uh oh!" Bubbles gasped, hiding behind her sister and pointing over at a _Keep off the Grass_ sign. Standing there were three human-sized germ-creatures wearing hats! I was startled at the sight of them. The first one was tall yet still a little stout, the second one was very tiny, and the third one was extremely long and skinny.

"What's wrong, Bubbles?" Blossom wanted to know.

"It's the Amoeba Boys!" Bubbles warned.

"Really?" Blossom asked. She and Buttercup glanced at the germs and started laughing. "No worries, Bubbles," Blossom chuckled.

"Yeah," Buttercup cackled. "The Amoeba Boys are no trouble at all. They're the worst bad guys I've ever met."

"The Amoeba Boys?" I repeated in curiosity.

"Yeah," Buttercup said. "They think they're villains, but they're really just stupid."

"I see," I said nodding. It _was_ kinda stupid. Three life-sized germs.

"Eh, Power Puff Girls!" the stout one called in a Brooklyn accent. "Yoo hoo! Why don't ya come o'er here and see what horrible crime we're committin' at the moment!"

"Yes! Very evil!" the tiny one agreed.

"I hope they're being sarcastic," Buttercup groaned.

"Nice try, Amoeba Boys!" Blossom called. "Standing on a _Keep off the Grass_ sign just isn't gonna do. You have to do better than that to get into jail."

The Amoeba Boys looked crushed.

I stood a few feet away from the girls so the germs wouldn't notice me. But it was too late.

"Eh, Power Puff Girls," the stout one said again. He had a big smirk on his dumb face. "Who's your little friend, huh?"

"This is Megan," Bubbles replied.

"What? Why are you telling him?" I wanted to know.

"He's not gonna do anything," Bubbles pointed out.

"Who says I won't, huh?" the germ asked.

"Great, just great," I groaned.

"Say, pleased to meet ya, Megan," the germ continued. "My name's Bossman, by the way. And this, here's Junior, and that, there's Slim."

"Hi," I muttered.

"Don't be scared, Megan. They're harmless," Blossom assured me.

"And now, Megan," Bossman said, holding a little flashlight in the air. "I'm gonna blind ya with this little light thingy!"

He shone the flashlight in my eyes.

"Oh, so scared," I said sarcastically.

"Ya better be," Bossman snapped.

"Yeah, ya better be!" Junior agreed.

"Uh, boss, what are we doing here again?" Slim asked.

Bubbles and Buttercup started laughing. Blossom rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You guys are just annoying," she told the Amoeba Boys. "We know you're never up to any real danger, so could you please not bother us anymore?"

"Hey, who says we're not dangerous?" Bossman wanted to know. "We can be _very_ dangerous! As a matter of fact, we're the most dangerous villains in Townsville!"

"Oh, _really?"_ Buttercup laughed. "Then how come you've never done much destruction to this city before?"

"We wanted to go easy on ya," Bossman explained. "Since you're just little girls and all. We thought maybe we'd cut ya some slack."

"Yeah, cut ya some slack!" Junior agreed.

"What they said," Slim said.

"Excuses, excuses," Blossom sighed, shaking her head. "You guys are trying as hard as you possibly can. You're just very bad at being bad guys."

"That's a lie!" Bossman snapped.

"Prove it!" Buttercup demanded. "Prove it to us that you're really villains. Think of something really evil you've never thought of before. Tell us."

"Um…" the germs said, thinking for a while.

"Don't hurt yourselves," Blossom told them.

"We're _not!"_ Bossman snapped.

"Fine, fine," Blossom said.

She, Bubbles, and Buttercup giggled amongst themselves. I just stood there with them, staring at the Amoeba Boys, waiting for them to give up.

"We got it!" Bossman exclaimed. "If we took over the world we would take away playgrounds so children wouldn't be able to have recess anymore!"

"Sorry," Blossom said. "That just isn't bad enough."

"Yeah, you guys are hopeless," Buttercup said.

"You're a bunch of zeroes!" Bubbles added.

"Zeroes, huh?" Bossman said frowning. "And you think _you're_ so tough, first graders?"

Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup nodded.

I thought Bossman was gonna say something really tough to try to get back at them, but instead he just said, "Yes, we know you're tough. That's why we gotta watch what we says around youse."

"You're so pathetic!"

I didn't want those words to slip out of my mouth, but they did.

"Pathetic, huh?" Bossman said. He smirked again. He and the two other germs didn't seem as threatened when I spoke as they did when the Power Puff Girls spoke. "Who you callin' pathetic, cripple? At least we're a deadly disease! You don't have any powers. You just got a broken leg."

I glanced down at my leg and then glared at the germs. They were all laughing at me.

"Don't get angry, Megan," Blossom told me.

"It's not even worth it," Buttercup agreed.

I clenched my fists. I didn't want to get angry. These were just air headed germs. What was there to get angry about? I was just sick of being teased about being weak and powerless. Of course it wasn't so insulting coming from the Amoeba Boys, but what if it came from somebody else? Like _Ace?_

I was jealous of the Power Puff Girls. They were so much more confident and powerful than I was. They wouldn't let anybody mess around with them. Especially not someone like Ace.

"Well, we're gonna see you later," Blossom told the Amoeba Boys.

"Yeah, go steal an apple or something," Buttercup said to them.

"We're leaving!" Bubbles announced.

"Fine," Bossman said. "But we will see you again. That's a promise. Good bye, Megan."

I ignored him.

I followed the girls over to the end of the park.

"Let's get an ice cream!" Bubbles suggested. There was an ice cream cart where a bunch of little kids were jumping up and down, excitedly awaiting to receive a cone of their own.

"I'll pay," Blossom said, getting a few dollars out of her pocket. "Buttercup, what flavor?"

"Chocolate!"

"Bubbles, what flavor?"

"Chocolate!"

"Megan, what flavor?"

"Uh, chocolate."

"Great! I'll have a chocolate too! Four chocolates coming your way!"

We were almost next in line when a small girl about their age with red hair in two pigtails, freckles, a crown, and a yellow dress marched up to the girls and shouted, "Why, if it isn't the Power Puff Girls! Tell me, what brings you here to Bonsai Gardens Park for an ice cream on this fine day?"

"None of your business, Princess!" Buttercup snapped.

"Yeah, just leave us alone," Bubbles agreed.

"I'll only leave you alone if you make me a Power Puff Girl!" Princess screamed.

Wow, what a temper tantrum.

Then she noticed me. "Who's she? Are you letting _her _be a Power Puff Girl?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Princess," Blossom scoffed. "She's our baby sitter."

"Baby sitter?" Princess repeated.

"Yes," Blossom said. "And our best friend."

"Yeah, so now you can go wherever you were going and pretend you didn't see us here," Buttercup told Princess. "That way we can pretend we didn't see you here either."

"I'm in need of a baby sitter," Princess said.

"Oh no," Buttercup groaned.

"My daddy's always out of the house at work and my maids never play dollies with me," Princess explained in a sad, innocent voice. "I've always wanted a baby sitter; especially one who's older and smarter who I can look up to like a role model."

"Sorry, you aren't gonna find her here!" Buttercup snapped.

"That's right. You're not!" Bubbles agreed.

Princess ignored them and smiled at me. "Here you go," she said to me. She handed me a hundred dollar bill. My eyes widened.

"Oh my gosh, thanks," I said in disbelief.

"There's more where that came from," Princess pointed out.

A big limousine pulled up on the street. The driver honked the horn.

"That's my ride," Princess said, about to walk away. She looked at me one last time. "So you're gonna baby sit me, right?"

I liked the money but I didn't want the Power Puff Girls to get mad at me, so I used the stock answer, "I'll think about it."

She grinned and got into the limo.

She disappeared.

Blossom got the ice creams and then we sat over at a picnic table to eat them at.

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Princess Morbucks," Bubbles explained. "She's the rottenest girl in Townsville!"

"You aren't gonna baby sit for her, right?" Buttercup asked.

I shook my head. "Of course not. I'm not gonna baby sit anyone who isn't your friend." I lowered my voice, "As long as you don't know about it."

They didn't hear that second part, so they looked satisfied. Bubbles gave me another big hug. I returned the hug. I felt bad. I didn't want to betray them but I did like the money Princess had to offer. And the Lord knew Richard needed it. But I didn't want to lose the Power Puff Girl's friendship.

I would talk it over with Richard.

The next night I sat at dinner with Richard.

"Hey, Dad," I said, finally deciding to tell him about my leg. "Did you notice anything different about me lately?"

"You being happier," Richard replied.

"No, not that," I said. "My leg. It's broken."

"Oh no! I'm sorry, honey. What happened?" he gasped, looking down and seeing the cast.

"I just fell down the stairs," I lied. "The girls tried to catch me but it was too late. I hit the ground before they got to me."

"I'm so sorry," Richard apologized. "I didn't even notice. You should have told me. Well, the girls are nice to have signed your cast."

"Yep," I agreed. "Maybe you can sign it later."

"Sure," he said nodding. "Definitely."

There was another moment of awkward silence.

He decided to speak again, "Um, so I haven't asked you this in a while. How's your time here going? What have you been up to?"

"Nothing much," I replied. "Just baby sitting the girls, hanging out with the girls, spending time with the girls."

He nodded.

"Um, Dad," I said. "There's something else."

"What is it?" Richard asked.

"I got an offer to baby sit Princess Morbucks," I began. His eyes widened and he jumped up in his seat.

"Morbucks?" he repeated.

"Yes," I said.

"Yippee!" he exclaimed, standing up. "Megan, do you know what this means? Morbucks is the richest family in the City of Townsville!"

"Yeah, I figured that," I said. I took that hundred dollar bill out of my pocket and held it up in the air. I had been holding it in my pocket for a little while until the time was right to show it to him. Fortunately, Richard seemed to like it a lot.

"Oh my God!" Richard shouted, grabbing the dollar bill and kissing it. "Thank you, Jesus! Megan, if you baby sit Princess you're gonna get a lot more of these babies! Soon we'll be so rich I won't have to go down to the office anymore; except to see Ima."

"Dad, there's just one problem," I said. He looked at me. I told him, "The Power Puff Girls don't like Princess at all. They don't want me to baby sit for the Morbucks family."

"You can still baby sit for the Utonium's too," he pointed out.

"Well, I know that," I said. "But they just don't want me going anywhere near her. They hate her. They'll never forgive me."

"You don't have to worry about that, Megan," Richard said. "Tell them you need to do it for the money. If they're really your friends they'll understand. They'd probably be fine with it. Next time you see them just let them know that they're always gonna be your favorites, so they don't have to worry about sharing you with Princess."

"Okay, I'll tell them," I said.

Honestly, I wasn't ready to tell them yet.

"Could you excuse me just a minute?" Richard asked, still clinging on to that hundred dollar bill with all his might. "I'm gonna give Morbucks a call."

He sang a victory-song and dialed Morbuck's number on the phone.

"Hello?" he said. "Is this Mr. Morbucks? ... Hello! … Oh, who am I? I'm Richard Brody... No, I don't work with you… I know you don't know who I am, but I need to talk to you… Don't hang up! Please! Let me explain! … Thank you. Okay, it seems to me your daughter made an offer to my daughter for her to baby sit-"

_"Daddy! Give me that!"_

I could hear Princess's loud voice over the phone. I could hear her as she spoke to my dad.

_"Yes! Yes! A thousand billion gazillion times yes!"_

"Well, that sounds good to me," Richard chuckled.

Then Princess hung up.

"Well, Megan," Richard said, setting the phone down on the table. "Looks like you got a job."

"Guess so," I sighed.

"And it's worth lots and lots of Morbucks!" Richard laughed.

"Dad, that wasn't funny," I said.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"That's okay," I assured him.

After that there was another long moment of awkward silence."Dad, by the way, how did it go with Ima?" I asked curiously.

His eyes lit up when I mentioned her name.

"Ima?" he repeated.

"Your date," I said.

"Oh yes, my date with Ima," he remembered. He looked excited. "She liked it. She liked the date a lot. She said she's gonna be seeing a lot more of me."

That was what I was afraid of.

"That's great, Dad," I told him.

"Thank you," he said. He looked proud of himself so I tried to feel happy.

But how could someone like _him_ attract someone like _her?_ He snored during football games and she probably dined with celebrities.

"I'm happy for you, Dad," I said faintly.

Just then I remembered how I felt when Anna found Daniel, and then I remembered how I felt when Anna left Richard. Now I was gonna feel the same way about Richard finding Ima. And it wasn't a great feeling. The only thing that would make it worse would be if Richard got married to Ima. Hopefully Richard wouldn't go that extreme.

"Let's see what happens," Richard said.

I didn't like to wish bad things but I wished that maybe Ima would break up with Richard during one of their next few dates. I had already lost a parent to another. I didn't want that to happen again.

"I think I might go upstairs," I said.

"That sounds good," he told me. "Get some rest."

"Dad," I said when I was at the top of the stairs.

"Yes?" he asked looking up at me.

"Are you going on any dates with Ima again soon?" I asked him.

"I don't know," he replied. "Maybe."

"Okay," I said. Then I disappeared into the upstairs hallway. I sat on my bed and started crying. I didn't want to deal with this.

I dialed the Utonium's number.

Not my mother's.

I wanted to speak with the girls.

_"Yes?"_ the Professor's voice said.

"Hey, Professor, this is Megan," I said. "I need to speak with the girls, if that's okay. Are they still awake?"

_"Yeah, they're awake,"_ he replied. _"I'll give the phone to one of them."_ I listened as he called the girls over.

_"Hey, Megan."_

It was Blossom.

"Hi, Blossom," I said, trying not to sob loudly. "I wanted to talk to you guys cause I'm in great need of friends, and you're the best friends I have. Actually, you're the _only_ friends I have."

_"Are you okay?"_ Blossom asked. _"Are you in trouble?" _

"Well, not really," I replied.

_"Then what is it?"_

"My dad has a girlfriend."

_"Isn't that a good thing, though?"_

"I don't know," I said honestly. "Cause my parents got divorced a few years ago and then my mom found another guy really quickly, and it hurt when they got married. I thought my mom would never spend any time with me, and I was halfway right.

"She's always busy and always spends time with Daniel. Sometimes she tries to spend time with me, but it's not enough. Sometimes she forgets about me. And the same's happening now."

_"Oh, I'm so sorry,"_ Blossom sighed. _"I know how you feel because that almost happened to the Professor. The girls and I felt the same exact way that you feel right now."_

"What happened?" I asked curiously.

_"It's a long story,"_ Blossom said. _"But I'll tell it to you. One day we were grocery shopping and the Professor met this really pretty lady. They started dating and we were okay with it at first, but then it got annoying, and she was really mean to the girls and I. But she pretended to be nice when the Professor was around. So he liked her a lot._

_"Then one day when we were supposed to be out saving the day she grounded us, because growing girls were supposedly not supposed to save the world. But then we found out that the reason she was grounding us from saving the world was because she was really a super villain in disguise, and didn't want us to give her any trouble._

_"Finally we caught her when she came home. The Professor came home and saw who she really was. He sent her off to jail and promised he'd never let a woman come between him and us ever again."_

"Wow, that sounds complicated," I said.

"It was, but the ending was fine," Blossom pointed out.

"But my dad's girlfriend isn't a super villain," I sighed. "She really cares about him a lot."

"_Hey, Megan."_

It was Buttercup's voice now.

"Hi, Buttercup."

_"Hi, Megan!"_

Bubbles' voice.

"Hi, Bubbles."

_"Yep, we're all here,"_ Blossom said.

_"It's a bummer about your dad,"_ Buttercup said.

"I know," I agreed.

_"But we're here for you,"_ Blossom assured me.

"Thank you," I said.

_"You can stay on the phone with us until you fall asleep," _Bubbles said.

"Thank you," I said, feeling all emotional. "You are the best friends anyone could ever have."

I said each word with such passion. I could tell they knew I knew they were the best friends anyone could have. They really were. They were super friends. I felt bad about baby sitting for Princess Morbucks, but my family needed the money. Between the salaries her dad would pay my dad and with what Ima would lend Richard, I'd be rich. And the girls would just have to understand that it's for the greater good for my family, if they really were my friends, which I knew they were. But I couldn't tell them yet. Not yet.

_"You're our best friend too," _Bubbles said.

I wished she were here so I could've hugged her.

_"Megan, maybe you'll like the new lady,"_ Blossom pointed out. _"I know change is hard, but maybe it'll be a good change."_

_"Yeah,"_ Buttercup chuckled. _"She can't be a crazy villain like the one who tried to steal the Professor." _

_"You'll just have to see," _Bubbles said.

"Maybe," I sighed. "She is really nice to him at work and stuff. She sounds like a good person."

_"That's good,"_ Blossom said.

"But Daniel's a good person too," I pointed out. "And I didn't like it when he married my mother. I don't want change."

I prayed to God I wouldn't cry too loudly.

_"You just have to give her a chance,"_ Blossom said. _"Have you ever actually met her?"_

"Well, kinda, not really," I explained. "I went to my dad's work place and she walked by and said hi to him. I didn't meet her. I just saw her."

_"Do you think your dad will invite her to dinner or something so you can meet her?" _

"I hope not," I muttered.

_"Don't worry, Megan,"_ Buttercup said. _"If you don't like her, I can just beat her up."_

"That's not a good idea, Buttercup," I sighed.

_"Well, I'm just saying, that's all." _

"It's a nice offer, but I don't think Richard would appreciate that very much."

Soon I zoned out into La la land and I could no longer hear what they were telling me. I think they knew I fell asleep because I wouldn't have stopped talking otherwise.


	7. Little NightmarePart of the Family

Megan baby sits for Princess Morbucks for the first time. She sees what the Power Puff Girls mean when they said she was a real brat. Also, Megan comes with Richard on his date with Ima, and as it turns out, Ima isn't really a Goodlady either.

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

Little Nightmare/Part of the Family

Chapter 8

"This is so exciting!" Richard exclaimed as he drove into the city that Monday. We were going to the Morbuck's home. Today was my first day I would baby sit there. "We're actually going to the Morbuck's house, Megan! I bet it's gonna be the biggest house in Townsville!"

"Yeah, it's gonna be huge," I said nodding.

He looked at his map. "I just hope we can get there," he said. He was holding it upside down. "Dumb map," he said. "I'll try the GPS."

"Hello, Richard," it said in a robotic voice.

"Hey, GP," he said (obviously trying to be cool again). "Can you help me find the Morbuck's home?"

"Make a right," it replied robotically.

"Thanks," Richard said.

He was about to make a right but then another car ran a red light. He screamed like a little girl. Then a bunch of police cars went after the speeding car. Then I saw three flashes of light fly by. It was Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup.

"Good ole Power Puff Girls," Richard sighed happily. "They're gonna catch that crook."

I lowered my head. I hoped the girls wouldn't see me and figure out that I was going to the Morbuck's home to baby sit Princess.

We kept driving for a little while.

"Okay, now I'm worried," Richard groaned. "I'm just not finding this place. Yo, GP, how am I supposed to find this place?"

"Make a right," it repeated robotically.

So that's what Richard did.

And then the GPS told him to do it again.

"Okay, okay, enough already!" Richard begged. "I've made enough rights to last a lifetime! Is this thing broken?"

He punched the GPS twice to see if it was actually still working.

"You're here," it said robotically.

"Yeah, right," Richard scoffed.

"Dad?" I said.

"Yeah?"

"Look."

He looked up. I looked too.

In front of us was the biggest house either of us had either seen. Well, the biggest house in Townsville, anyway.

It had a pink roof and purple walls. There was a water fountain in the front, and I could see a long pool and a picket fence behind the house. There were also a bunch of little buildings surrounding the house that said things like "Morbucks Petting Zoo" and "Morbucks Pizza Parlor".

"Megan?" Richard said in a faint whisper.

"Uh, yeah, Dad?" I said.

"Here's my camera," Richard said, handing me a camera. "It takes pictures and video. Take lots of both. And pet a llama for me, _please?"_

"Yeah, sure thing, Dad," I chuckled.

"Tell me all about it in the morning when you come home," Richard said.

Apparently Mr. Morbucks was gonna be at work all night.

"Dad, aren't you coming to the door with me?" I asked, when I noticed he wasn't getting out of the car with me.

"Um, no, I don't think so, Megan," he replied.

He was obviously either scared of Mr. Morbucks or Princess- or both.

"Fine, Dad," I said rolling my eyes.

"Give me a call tonight," Richard said. Then he gave me one last wave and drove off.

I climbed the numerous stairs to the front door.

One could get a good workout from climbing those stairs.

Finally I reached the door and was about to knock on it but then Mr. Morbucks opened it. He was a tall, chubby, bald, and wore slippers and a robe.

"Hello, sir," I said smiling politely. "I'm Megan. I'm gonna be baby sitting your daughter, so I-"

He turned around and walked back into the house.

I was guessing that he was doing that to let me know he wanted me to come inside, so I slowly followed him inside. I looked around the living room.

"Wow," I whispered.

There was a huge sculpture of Princess in the middle of the room and tons of old ancient Roman-styled columns and tons of hallways full of gift shops, rest rooms, elevators, and murals.

"Was it really expensive to get this place to look like this?" I asked Mr. Morbucks, trying to make conversation.

He didn't respond. He was obviously a very silent person. That worked for me. I wasn't very talkative either. We'd get along just fine.

He entered a room and then came out five minutes later in a different outfit. Now he was wearing a suit; probably what he wears to work.

Then he started toward the front door.

Before he left for work he handed me TWO HUNDRED DOLLAR BILLS!

I was liking this job.

"Thank you so much!" I said gratefully.

But he was gone.

"Wow, this is great," I said, spinning in a circle. I was enjoying my few moments of success and wealth and peace and quiet.

I heard footsteps nearby.

I turned around.

"BABY SITTER! IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU GOT HERE!"

Princess entered the room angrily. She was wearing a long purple dress, ballerina slippers, and a necklace that looked like it was made of real pearls.

"Hey there, Princess," I said smiling as brightly as I possibly could. I wanted those bucks, so I needed to be very, very friendly.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," she said, rolling her eyes. "Why did it take so long for you to get here, anyway?"

"Well, my dad got lost," I explained. "It took him a while to actually find this house-"

"Has he ever heard of a GPS?" Princess asked.

"Yes, that's what he used to get here, actually," I pointed out.

"Then you're just making excuses," Princess declared. "When _my_ daddy uses a GPS he gets everywhere he needs to: TEN MINUTES EARLY!"

"Well, my dad just got the GPS," I pointed out. "He's still learning how to use it."

_"My_ daddy learned how it worked the first time he used it!" Princess bragged. "And he doesn't sound like a dork when he talks on the phone."

I got angry.

But I had to pretend I didn't.

"So what do you want to do?" I asked her in a sugary sweet baby-sitter voice.

"Ride on my rollercoaster," she replied, heading toward the back door.

My jaw dropped. "You have a rollercoaster in your house?" I asked in shock.

_"Duh,_ it's just in the back yard," she said. "Along with my carousel, racecar track, football field, public swimming pool, and TV studio set."

"So you want me to come?" I asked.

She made a face. "Uh, _yeah,_ you're my baby sitter, _aren't _you? You can do anything you want when you're here."

"Wow, that's really cool," I said.

_"Cool?"_ she repeated with a scoff. "Not really. Daddy hasn't bought me my log flume yet. Now come _on._ You don't want the line to get too long."

So we got outside. I was excited to see this rollercoaster.

"Oh no," I groaned when I saw it.

It was the biggest rollercoaster I'd ever seen. I watched as other people rode on it. There were tons of hairpin turns, twists, drops, and times when the coaster went upside down. It shouldn't have been a problem for me since I've gone on rollercoaster's before. But all the rollercoaster's I'd ever been on were small, baby-like coasters.

"What's the matter?" Princess wanted to know, folding her arms over her chest and tapping her foot impatiently. "Come on! Let's go!"

"That's okay. You can go," I told her. "I just ate something and I'll be sick if I go on it. Have fun. I'm just gonna sit this one out."

"Wait a minute," she said. "Are you _scared?"_

"No, I'm _not _scared!" I snapped.

"Then why aren't you gonna go on the rollercoaster?" she asked.

"I _told _you why!" I pointed out. "I don't feel good. I had a big lunch."

"Well, that isn't gonna do," she said smugly. "My chefs are preparing a large banquet for you for dinner, so you need to eat the whole thing, or else you'll be rude."

Look who was calling who rude.

"Fine," I sighed, rolling my eyes. "I'll go on the rollercoaster with you. How bad can it be?"

"Great!" she said triumphantly. "The main drop is ninety five feet tall, by the way."

"Goodie, sounds like fun," I said sarcastically.

"Come on!" she insisted, grabbing me by my arm. We ran up to the line where there were only four people in front of us. "Yay!" she said. "Short line!"

"Yippee," I muttered.

My heart beat fast when I got into the coaster and buckled my seatbelt. I'd never been on a rollercoaster this big before. I looked down and saw miles and miles of sky below me. We were almost above the clouds now.

"Relax," I told myself. "These things are usually very fast and short. It'll be over before I know it."

"I don't know what you're so worried about," Princess said with a scoff. "I've been on this thing a billion times. The only thing that ever bothers me on it is the terrified, screaming people."

Then the ride gave a jolt and started!

Everyone was screaming except for me who suffered in silence, and Princess who wasn't scared at all. I closed my eyes through the whole thing, so it was over soon.

After the rollercoaster we went over to the TV studio. "They're filming a sitcom," Princess explained. "They're never that funny though."

We sat inside, and watched a bunch of comedians performing live. The people in the audience around us laughed constantly, but Princess told me not to laugh at their corny jokes.

Then we went to the race car track, but luckily we weren't driving the cars. We just sat in the stands. Princess was busy explaining all the different drivers' backgrounds to me. Actually she was yelling because she wanted to be heard over all the noise. One of the cars went up in flames!

"Oh my gosh!" I gasped.

"What?" Princess asked.

"That guy's car just blew up," I replied.

The driver came safely running out of the car.

"Thank God he's okay," I sighed in relief.

"Who cares?" Princess said rolling her eyes. "If he wasn't, we could just buy a replacement."

I gave her a dirty look. She didn't notice though because she was too focused on how long it took for the firemen to put out the fire.

A few hours later I had dinner in her dining room. There were a bunch of chefs, maids, waiters, and waitresses everywhere. A chef with a French accent brought a plate over.

"It's something different," he told Princess.

"Thank you," she told him.

On the plate was something I couldn't even look at, let alone eat.

Princess could tell I didn't like it. "What are you waiting for?" she asked. "Dig in."

"You want me to eat a sheep?" I asked.

She started laughing. "It's not a sheep. It's lamb."

"Isn't that the same thing?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said. "Who cares?"

I didn't want to be rude so I just told the chef I wasn't feeling too well.

After dinner she told me to come to her room.

"You need to read me a bedtime story," she demanded.

"What story?" I asked.

"One about a princess," she replied.

"You're gonna have to give me a little more information than that," I pointed out. "There's a billion stories about princesses out there."

"Shush! Shush!" she snapped.

The maid walked out of the room and smiled at us. Princess smiled back sarcastically and then locked the door behind the maid. Then Princess quickly got dressed into her long purple nightgown and put curlers in her hair. She got under her covers.

"You have to tell me about the Power Puff Girls," she whispered.

"Excuse me?" I said.

"Come here," she demanded, waving me over.

I sat by the side of her bed.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked.

"Tell me about the Power Puff Girls," she repeated.

"Uh, I'm afraid I can't do that," I said.

"Why not?" she snapped.

"Because it's really not any of your business," I pointed out.

_"Everything's_ my business!" she argued.

"What makes you think that's your business?" I wanted to know.

"Because I want to be a Power Puff Girl!" she shouted.

I scoffed. "You're never gonna be a Power Puff Girl," I told her. "Deal with it. Move on."

"Not if _I_ can help it," she muttered, crossing her arms.

I let out an annoyed sigh. "How are you gonna be a Power Puff Girl by me telling you things about them?"

"That isn't why I want you to tell me about them," she said. "I think they're interesting and I want to know what it's like being their friend. They must be fascinating people."

I sighed. "What do you want to know?"

What could she do anyway?

"Well, just tell me about them," she said.

"Blossom's very smart," I explained. "Bubbles is really sweet and Buttercup's very tough."

"Boring!" she shouted. "I already knew that!"

"I'm not gonna tell you anymore than that," I snapped.

"Just tell me about what they like and that sorta thing," she begged.

"Why?" I asked. "Why is that of any interest to you?"

"They're the most famous girls in Townsville," she pointed out. "It must be really cool to hang out with them. I was in their kindergarten class, but they never hung out with me too much. They didn't like me. They were very mean."

Not really. I could see why they wouldn't like her.

"Well, if that's the case, then I don't want to tell you anything about them," I said. "If they don't like you then they probably don't want you to know anything about them."

"But they're really mean!" she insisted. "They hate me for no reason at all! Maybe if you told me a little bit about them I might know what makes them so tense and why they don't like me."

"There's nothing mean about them," I argued.

"That's cause they like _you,"_ Princess pointed out.

"Maybe my personality just clicks with them better than yours does," I suggested. "Clashing personalities often is the cause of what makes people not like other people."

"What do you mean by that?" she asked angrily.

"Uh, well…" I said. "You know, they're so friendly, and you're…"

"I'm _what?_" she wanted to know.

Spoiled, annoying, and unlikable.

"You're very headstrong."

To put it nicely.

"But that's a bad thing," she pointed out.

I _could_ have said spoiled, annoying, and unlikable.

"Did you ever get into a fight with the girls or something?" I asked curiously. "Cause most of the time they like everyone."

"Are you trying to insult me?" she asked.

"No," I said shaking my head. "I'm just trying to get down to the bottom of things."

"Oh, so now you're a baby sitter _and_ a shrink?" she asked.

"No," I said. "I was just trying to help."

"Well, it's not working," she scoffed.

"What _would_ help?" I wanted to know.

"If you made me a Power Puff Girl!" she replied.

Ah ha, that was why the girls didn't like her. She probably always nagged on them about how she wanted to join them, and they wouldn't let her.

"How am I supposed to make you a Power Puff Girl?" I asked. "I can't just give you super powers."

"Well, you can give me a little information about _how_ they got their super powers," she pointed out.

"They never told me that," I said.

"Then ask them!" she said.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Cause that's really none of my business."

I really knew how they got their powers. It was Chemical X, but I couldn't tell her that.

"Well, it _will_ be your business," she declared.

"What makes you think that?" I asked.

"Because if you don't tell me, I'll _fire_ you," she said.

"You can't do that," I argued.

"Yes I can," she said. "I'm Princess Morbucks. My daddy gets me anything I want, so I can do whatever I want."

I glared at her as she slept. At this point I thought it would actually be a miracle if she fired me.

The next night I was sitting in my room. Richard knocked on my door and came inside. "Hey Megan," he said. He had a big smile on his face.

"Hey," I replied. I noticed he was wearing a suit. "What's the occasion?"

"Dinner," he replied.

I gave him a look. "Am I coming too?"

"Yes," he said. "That's what I was about to tell you. And you don't even have to wear a dress. Just jeans, a shirt, and a jacket. You don't have to look fancy."

"And, uh, _you_ do?" I asked.

"Well, we're gonna be eating with someone," he said blushing.

"Gee, wonder who that might be," I said.

"You'll find out soon enough!" he said excitedly.

He obviously didn't understand sarcasm.

He left the room so I could get changed. Yeah, I only wore jeans and a jacket over a shirt. He didn't care whether or not I looked casual for his big date with Ima, and I didn't either.

"You look great," he told me.

He didn't know the definition of looking great.

"Well, thanks," I said smiling.

"Let's get to the car," he said.

So we got into the car. Richard was checking himself out in the mirror during the whole job.

I groaned. "Dad, if you're gonna keep doing that I'm gonna have to take over the wheel and start driving."

"Doing what?" he asked innocently.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

Then we got out of the car in front of a large, luxurious building. For a moment I thought it might have been a hotel, but it was just a fancy restaurant.

"Here we are," Richard said, tightening his tie.

Then we started toward the door. We walked inside and I noticed that everyone there was dressed so fancy. I felt like an outcast.

"Richard!" a woman squealed.

It was Ima. She came running up to Richard. She gave him a big hug and kiss. I studied what she was wearing. She was wearing a short, tight, sleeveless white sparkly dress, a pearl necklace, and high heels. She was the total opposite of who would like my dad.

I stood back so they could forget I was there.

"Oh, Megan," Richard said.

"Yeah?" I said turning around.

Richard had his arm around Ima's shoulder and Ima was giving me this smile I'd only seen on clowns before. "I know the two of you have seen each other a few times, but you've never actually been introduced formally. Megan, this is Ima," Richard said. "And, Ima, this is my daughter Megan."

"Hello Megan!" Ima said sweetly.

"Uh, hey," I replied.

"Your father has told me so much about you," Ima explained. "And let me just say, you are _beautiful_! Look at you! You're adorable!"

"Thanks," I said.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" she asked.

That was getting personal.

"No," I said shaking my head.

_"That's insane!"_ she shouted. "You're too pretty not to have a boyfriend."

"Uh, thanks," I said in response.

"How about we all take a seat?" Richard asked, motioning for us to sit down.

Ima giggled hysterically when she sat down.

Now I knew why she was interested in Richard. She was a total ditz.

They sat down on one side of the booth and I sat down on the other. I stuck my nose inside the menu; even though I knew I wasn't gonna get anything here. Here they had nothing but elegant meat and vegetables. There was nothing edible like pizza.

"So, Megan, how do you like Townsville?" Ima asked curiously.

"I like it a lot," I replied. But then I wanted to say something else; something that would sneakily turn her off so she might consider leaving the city. "But there's so much crime! Every day there's a robbery here and a kidnap there! It's chaos!"

She frowned. "Yes, that's true," she said seriously. She seemed to know what I was trying to do. Maybe she was smarter than I thought.

"But at least we have the Power Puff Girls to save the day," I pointed out.

She half-frowned, half-smiled. "Yes."

"Oh, that's right!" Richard said. "Megan actually baby sits the girls for the Professor. They get along very well."

"They're like the little sisters I've never had," I said.

"Well, that's nice," Ima said, smiling widely again. I hoped her face would stick like that. "It must be cool to hang out with the famous Power Puff's."

"It is," I said in agreement.

"And have you met any _more_ friends in Townsville?" she asked. "Like, _older_ friends?"

"Uh, I don't remember," I said embarrassedly.

Ima turned to Richard and said, "I hope she makes some older friends. The Power Puff Girls are only just starting first grade, and Megan's going to be starting _ninth._ It's unhealthy for her to only know little children. I want her to expand her relationships."

"You're absolutely right!" Richard agreed.

"She is?" I asked.

"Yes," Richard said. "Megan, we're gonna work on having you make some older friends."

"Uh, okay," I said confusedly. Richard normally wouldn't care whether I had friends my age or not. He was obviously bending over backwards to suit Ima's wishes. Pathetic.

"Hey, Megan, isn't Bud about your age? Bud Smith?" Richard asked.

"He's, like, a few years younger than me," I replied. "He's probably eleven or twelve or something."

"That's good enough," Ima said.

"Yes, definitely," Richard agreed.

"So… you're saying you don't want me to hang out with the Power Puff Girls anymore?" I asked, trying to figure out what they were trying to say.

"No, no, not at all," Richard said. "I still want you to hang out with them."

"Maybe just a little bit _less,"_ Ima suggested.

"Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking," Richard said.

I rolled my eyes. Just because they told me not to hang out with the girls as much didn't mean I was actually going to listen to them. I just met this lady. What did her rules mean to me?

"What are you going to order, Megan?" Richard asked me.

"I don't know," I replied, shaking my head. "Probably just a loaf of bread or something."

"Okay," Richard said nodding.

"Oh no, Richie!" Ima protested dramatically.

"What? What is it?" Richard wanted to know.

"Nothing but a loaf of bread is very unhealthy for Megan!" Ima explained. "She can't live off of bread! She needs to make more healthy choices with her dieting! You need to be tougher! More strict! You have to give her what helps her body."

"Relax, Ima," I chuckled. "I'll have spaghetti when I get home, or something."

"You're a growing girl, Megan," Ima pointed out. "And growing girls need to eat healthy foods."

Growing girl. Where did I hear that expression before?

"But I _do_ eat healthy foods," I argued.

"Richie, help me out," Ima begged Richard. She sounded like she was whimpering.

"Megan, we might need to change your diet," Richard told me.

"Dad, what's wrong with you?" I wanted to know. _"You're_ the one that gives me popcorn and cold pizza every night, and now you're talking about eating healthy?"

"Richie, popcorn and cold pizza?!" Ima gasped.

"You're right! You're right!" Richard surrendered. "I must admit; I've fed poorly. But that's all gonna change after tonight. After tonight it'll only be vegetable soup for supper."

"Sounds good," Ima said, sounding satisfied.

"You've gotta be kidding me," I said angrily.

"No I'm _not,_ Megan," Richard argued.

"Listen, Megan," Ima said, smiling. "I know that vegetable soup may not be your favorite choice, but it is healthier, and one day your body will thank you-"

"No, I don't mind the vegetable soup," I interrupted. "I always ate it when I lived with my mom. I just mind it how Dad's so different out of nowhere. Now if you excuse me, I have to go to the bathroom."

I stood up and slammed my chair under the table.

Then I marched off to the bathroom.

While I was still nearby I heard Ima telling Richard, "Give her time."

Give her time? Who did she think she was? She wasn't my mother! She had no right to tell my father to "give me time". I was sick of her already.

I didn't actually have to use the bathroom.

I just stood in front of the mirror, pacing the room, staring at the clock, waiting until fifteen minutes passed, just so I could have fifteen minutes less of this horrible nightmare.

Finally Ima came in the room.

"Megan, thank goodness you're alright!" she said dramatically. "I thought something terribly wrong must have happened to you!"

"Did you think I got sucked into the toilet?" I asked curiously. Gee, I was _just _in the bathroom.

"I was so worried about you," she continued, ignoring my sarcastic question.

Yeah, and, um, was Richard worried too? He was my dad, not you.

"Sorry I scared you so much."

That was all I could come up with to say.

She came running up to me and gave me a big hug. Some other lady opened the door and came in. She stared for a minute. How embarrassing. I grimaced and pat Ima on the back politely.

She finally let me go.

"Don't you ever, _ever _do anything like that to me ever again!" she demanded. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"Fine, fine, I get it!" I snapped. "Now let's go to my dad and let him know everything's alright before _he _gets a heart attack."

"That sounds like a perfect idea," she said, sniffing proudly for effect. Gee, she was such a drama queen.

I ran over toward the door and opened it.

She followed me back to Richard's table.

"Is everybody alright?" Richard asked.

"Yes, thankfully," Ima said, sitting down beside him. "I'm not sure if I can eat anymore. Megan gave me such a scare."

I clenched my fists. If she did this anymore I was going to throw something at her.

"Megan, why were you gone so long?" Richard wanted to know. He looked annoyed. Ima had one of her hands on her forehead and her other on Richard's shoulder. She was also outstretched on her chair.

"Dad, why do you care?" I wanted to know.

"You frightened Ima," he pointed out.

"I _knew_ you didn't care," I muttered.

"No, Megan, I _do_ care," he argued. "But I thought I could trust you to just run to the restroom and back. Something terrible might have happened to you."

"I was just in the bathroom," I reminded him.

"But you may have gotten sick or in trouble," Richard said. "And we didn't know whether you were hurt or not. And you may have… even… gotten… kidnapped. You know how Townsville is."

"Dad, I can take care of myself," I assured him.

Then I remembered what happened when I went to the dump to confront the Gangreen Gang. No, Megan, you cannot take care of yourself.

"I'm no longer hungry, Richie, darling," Ima said. Her voice sounded like she was about to hyperventilate.

"Me neither," Richard agreed. "Megan's never been like this before. She's always been a very sweet girl. She never spoke back to me like that before. I don't know what's wrong. It must be female hormones running wild or something."

"It's _nothing,_ Dad," I said angrily. "I'm just really tired from baby sitting Princess all night. I'm exhausted. I'll be better in the morning."

"I hope so," Richard said. "Cause tomorrow you need your strength for baby sitting the Power Puff Girls. So just get a good sleep."

"I will, Dad," I assured him.

"Can you ask the waiter for the check, Richie?" Ima asked.

"Sure thing, babe," Richard replied.

Babe? No, this couldn't be good.

The waiter came over.

"Check, please," Richard said.

The waiter nodded politely and brought it over immediately. Richard filled it out and handed it back to the waiter.

Then he motioned for me to come to the car with him. I noticed Ima was following us too. "Where's she going?" I whispered to Richard.

"Home with us," he replied.

"What?!"

"She's gonna spend the night with us."

We got into the car. I was told to sit in the backseat so Ima could sit in the front. I sat with my arms crossed the whole ride home as they flirted and giggled together about their plans together.

Then we got into the house.

"This is our house," Richard told Ima.

"It's lovely!" Ima said with a bright smile.

Lovely? This house? She must have loved Richard a lot to actually be able to say that this house was lovely.

You know what? Who cared whether or not Ima stayed over night? She was gonna sleep in Richard's room and I wouldn't be bothered because I would be across the hall in my own bedroom. I could just tell myself in my mind that she wasn't there over and over again until I finally started believing it.

"I'm gonna go upstairs and fluff the pillows," Richard said to Ima. He was about to turn around until the phone started ringing. "Hello?"

After a few minutes of discussion he turned to Ima and groaned. "Professor Utonium just called me," he explained. "Apparently there was a robbery at the bank again and he was wondering if I would come over there to help the injured."

"Go help him, Richie," Ima insisted. "Be my hero."

"Well, can you stay here with Megan?" Richard asked.

"No, Dad," I begged, shaking my head.

"Sure thing, Richie," Ima said.

"Thanks, babe," Richard said. "I'll be back in a few hours or so."

"That's fine," Ima assured him, practically shoving him at the door. "Go do what you do."

Then she practically slammed the door once he was out of the house.

"So, I'm gonna go up to bed," I told her.

"No you're _not!"_ she snapped, turning around. She looked incredibly furiously angry. I'd never seen her like that before.

"But it's past my bedtime," I pointed out.

"You're not going to bed until you're done tidying up every last inch of this trashy little shack!" she demanded. "Don't waste my time! Clean this henhouse! You can start by dusting the shelves!"

"Excuse me," I said. "I've never dusted a shelf in my lifetime."

"Your father spoiled you rotten when you were a child and never taught you any responsibility!" she said. "And now you're a disobedient little brat! This is what happens if you don't punish them!"

Wow. No one's ever spoken to me that way before. And I never thought my father's girlfriend would, of all people, since I could just turn around and tell him everything she did and said.

"I'm not your maid," I said toughly.

"But I'm your father's girlfriend!" she pointed out. "I can tell you to do whatever I want! Growing girls are supposed to obey their elders!"

"Elder," I laughed.

"Very funny!" she said sarcastically. She threw a rag in my face. "Now take this and clean!"

I angrily took the rag and started dusting the shelves. She grinned triumphantly. Then she sat down on the couch and started watching TV.

"Once she's out of the house I'm gonna tell Richard everything," I said to myself. "She'll no longer be number one in his life when I do."

Then I finished with the shelves. "Done."

"Now you have to mop the floors," she pointed out.

"You have gotta be kidding me," I told her.

She handed me the mop. I snatched it from her and mopped the floors. "Done," I told her when I was finished.

"Vacuum the house," she demanded.

I groaned and started vacuuming.

"No whining!" she snapped. "I want this house completely spotless if I'm gonna be coming over every night!"

Every night?! Not if I could help it.

"Hey, Ima," I said to her when I was finished. "That's all I'm gonna do. Nothing else. If you want something else done, do it yourself."

"How dare you talk to me that way!" she said in outrage. "You'll have more privileges taken away from you if you keep up with this attitude."

"You don't have any authority," I reminded her. "You're not my mother."

She grinned. "Those things can be changed."

"Not if _I_ have a say in it," I said, anger boiling up inside of me. "I'm his daughter. I'll just tell him that you aren't who he thought he was, _Goodlady." _

"How are you going to convince him of that?" Ima was curious to know. "If you say anything he's not gonna believe you and will think you're jealous of me because he likes me better."

"How can he like you better?" I wanted to know. "He just met you. And again, I'm his daughter."

"He's crazy about me," Ima cackled. "There's nothing you can say that'll make him want to get rid of me. Just get over it."

"Well, you know what? Who cares?" I asked. "Who cares whether you marry him or not? If you do, I'm just gonna go back to New York to continue to live with my mom and step dad (who, by the way, never treated me the way you are)."

"Then I'd have won," Ima pointed out.

I glared at her.

"Listen!" I told her. "You aren't gonna get away with this! The Power Puff Girls are my friends! They promised they would kick your butt if I didn't like you."

"Oh, I'm so scared," Ima said sarcastically. "I've faced the Power Puff Girls. Not even _they_ found the strength to stand up to me."

"When did you face them?" I wanted to know.

She didn't answer.

"You can go up to bed now," she told me.

"Thank God," I said loudly. I started toward the stairs up to my room. I brushed my teeth, used the bathroom, and took a shower. Then I got dressed into my night shirt and shorts. I turned my lamp on and got into bed. Yeah, sometimes I was still kinda afraid of the dark. It was something I never got over.

Then Ima stormed into the room and turned the lamp off. I glared at her. She glared right back.

"Growing girls aren't afraid of a little dark!" she pointed out. Then she slammed the door shut.

I sat there, staring around my darkened room.

I couldn't see a thing, yet I was hearing things.

Things outside, things inside, things nearby, things all around me, thoughts in my head. I didn't want to start crying but I did. I cried myself to sleep.

That morning I woke up and ran downstairs. I was about to punch Ima out if she was still in the house. But she wasn't. Only Richard was there. He was standing in the kitchen, making pancakes.

"Hey, Megan," he said in that happy-go-lucky tone he usually used.

"Hi," I said in response.

"How was Ima last night?" he asked.

This was my chance to tell him exactly what his precious Ima Goodlady was like. But then I remembered what Ima had said.

"_If you say anything he's not gonna believe you and will think you're jealous of me because he likes me better."_

"She was okay," I said. I hated the taste of those words; they were a big fat lie.

"Good. I'm glad," Richard said.

"How was the robbery?" I asked curiously.

He took a deep breath and sighed. "Megan, I knew they would crack," he said.

"Who?" I asked curiously.

"That Gangreen Gang," he replied.

I'd _seen_ them crack.

"What happened?" I asked.

"They robbed the bank, which you know, of course," Richard said. "And they knocked out a few of the bankers."

I frowned angrily. "How dare them."

"Yeah, that's why I'm glad they haven't been coming back to work on Friday's," he said. "They're bad kids, Megan. Sometimes I thought they actually had a chance of turning around, but I was wrong. I'm just glad you never confronted them or anything."

I stared down at the ground guiltily.

"Were they arrested?" I asked.

"No," Richard sighed. "They ran off with the money and I suggested that the police go after them to the dump. But then one of the officers, Mike Brickowski, said we'll give them one more chance."

"They've had all their chances," I growled.

"Wow, Megan," Richard said. "I know they're an unlikable bunch, but what's caused you to resent them so much?"

"I have my reasons," I replied.

I also had my reasons for disliking Ima.


	8. Zero to Hero

The Gangreen Gang sees Megan walking down the street with the Power Puff Girls so they decide to chase the girls into a museum, where Ace attacks Megan. But to his surprise Megan fights back. And then the whole city gets a surprise when Megan beats up Fuzzy Lumpkins. Megan becomes a super star, and also becomes a Power Puff Girl!

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

Zero to Hero

Chapter 10

That night there had been a mysterious break-in at the museum, which was obviously committed by the Gangreen Gang again. But Officer Mike Brickowski said they had no evidence of that.

Richard had to attend that crime scene as well as the night before so I got to spend another night with the lovely Ima Goodlady (cough, cough) and she was just as pleasant as ever.

But that next day I got a break. I was invited to hang out with the Power Puff Girls again. We went over to the city.

By the way, my leg was feeling a little bit better.

"We need to keep an eye on that tower," Blossom told her sisters, side glancing up at MoJo's tower. "He's been very sneaky lately."

"Hey," I said to them. "Do you know anything about the robbery at the bank or the break-in at the museum?"

"Yes," Blossom replied. "We were on the scene. We're trying to keep control over our tempers (especially Buttercup) and give that Gangreen Gang one more chance."

"Just _one,_ though!" Buttercup said angrily.

"Breathe, Buttercup. Breathe!" Bubbles told her sister, patting her on the back.

"I love you guys," I said. "You always make me smile when I'm upset."

"You're still upset about that lady?" Buttercup asked.

"Yeah, I am upset," I said.

"Let us know if it gets any better," Blossom said.

"Or worse," Buttercup added.

"Alright," I said nodding.

"We don't want our best friend to be sad," Bubbles said, giving me another hug.

I held her tight.

The three of us got startled at the sound of laughter. We looked up and saw the Gangreen Gang walking on the side of the street. Ace was the first one to notice us. He got serious immediately. Then his gang silenced right afterward. They stared at us cautiously as they walked. Ace glared at me, expressionless, from behind his dark glasses.

They slowly passed us.

Buttercup threw her head back and screamed.

"I CAN'T STAND LOOKING AT THEM IF I CAN'T KICK THEIR BUTTS!"

That made the Gangreen Gang stop walking. They stood still and laughed. They stared at Buttercup, waiting for her to crack. Then was when I realized they were trying to torture her.

"Just ignore them, Buttercup," Blossom told her.

Ace kept his gaze on me.

I stood there, trying not to make it obvious that I was staring back at him. I was trying to read him; find out what he was thinking. That seemed impossible. Let's face it. Ace was a man. And most men didn't wear their hearts on their sleeve the way women did. He could have been thinking _anything_.

"Feels ssssso tough now?" Snake called, looking right at me. "Now that you've got them Power Puffsssss by your sssside like body guardssssss?"

Billy, Grubber, and Arturo laughed maniacally.

"Don't respond, Megan," Blossom told me.

I didn't respond, but I kept looking at them. I wanted to somehow scare them off with my facial expression, but that wouldn't work. They'd seen me weak before. They'd _gotten_ me weak before.

"Hey, Megan!" Arturo said, obviously about to crack a joke of some sort. "Shut up! I think Ace is sick of your pathetic begging!"

His friends laughed again.

I wasn't even talking.

"Hey, shut _up!"_ Ace demanded his friends.

They immediately shut up.

I shook my head. No one had power over the Gangreen Gang like their leader, Ace, did.

"We should get out of here," Bubbles whispered to Blossom.

"Good idea," Blossom agreed nodding. "Come on, Megan," she told me. "Let's go."

"Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking," I said, hoping Ace heard what I said.

I didn't think it offended him too much cause he seemed to notice how I kept turning around and looking back at him as I walked off. Ew, you'd think I wouldn't be staring at some ugly, skinny green faced convict with fangs and dirty hair. But there was just something that made it so I couldn't look away- and it wasn't his unusual skin color.

To my surprise, the gang didn't follow us.

Well, at least, not at first.

After a while they started slowly walking behind us, like they didn't want to lose sight of us completely. It creeped me out.

"Girls, they're following us," I said.

"We won't let them come any closer," Blossom assured me.

"Or else I'll just assume they're hungry for a knuckle sandwich," Buttercup pointed out.

"Maybe we should walk a little faster," Bubbles suggested.

So we did. It was still difficult for me to keep up with them, because they had super speed, and I had a broken leg.

I turned around and saw that the Gangreen Gang wasn't walking any faster, but they were still following us. Ace had his hands in his pockets and a cunning look on his face.

I was _this _close to asking the Power Puff Girls to fly me back home, so the Gangreen Gang would give up. But I didn't. I still thought that maybe a nearby police officer would notice the perverted act these teenaged hoodlums were committing.

"Power walk!" Blossom told her sisters.

The three girls started using their super speed.

"Hello!" I said to get their attention. "Human!" I reminded them, pointing to myself.

Then Bubbles grabbed me by the arm and pulled me along with her as she power walked. I was trying not to trip over my own feet.

"To the museum," Blossom whispered.

She didn't want the Gangreen Gang to overhear our destination.

So we entered the museum.

We hid behind a mummy case.

"X-ray vision," Blossom told her sisters. Their eyes turned red.

Bubbles turned to me and said, "We can see the Gangreen Gang through walls. We'll leave the museum once they head back to the dump."

"Okay, I see," I said nodding.

"Uh oh!" Buttercup said, sounding afraid for once. "Red alert! They're coming inside!"

The door swung open.

"Thought ya could escape Ace, huh?" Ace's voice chuckled. "Well, not this time."

"Where did they go, bossss?" Snake asked.

Ace punched him in the nose and said, "Don't ask! Look! Look! All of you! Look for them! We ain't ditching this joint until we find them!"

"Big Billy go get soda!" Billy exclaimed, heading toward the soda machine.

"No!" Ace protested. "Big Billy _no_ get soda! Big Billy look for those rotten girls!"

Big Billy stomped his feet and crossed his arms.

He slowly trudged over toward one of the nearby exhibits. He was about to touch it even though the sigh next to it read _Do Not Touch_.

"Arturo, go check out the mammal exhibit," Ace said.

"Si, Ace," Arturo said, speeding away.

"Snake, go check out the food court," Ace said.

"Don't you thinksssss Big Billy would like to check out the food court insssstead?" Snake asked.

"I don't care what he would like!" Ace snapped. "I only care what _I_ like! And I like revenge! Now get out of my sight!"

"Yes, ssssssir," Snake said, running off.

"Ah, Grubber, my boy," Ace said, rubbing Grubber's shoulder. "You and I are gonna look for the girls together. I know in my heart that somewhere in that thick head of yours you've gotta keen mind."

"Pbbt," Grubber replied.

"You're such a keeper," Ace chuckled.

"Couldn't we have hid behind something more comfortable?" I asked the girls, while squirming around behind the mummy case.

"Hold on, Megan," Blossom instructed. "My sisters and I gotta take the Gangreen Gang by surprise, because I think they've blown their only chance. So just be very, very-"

Grubber jumped behind the mummy case!

He was blowing raspberries everywhere!

"_AAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!"_ the Power Puff Girls screamed. I could tell they never liked Grubber much. I didn't scream but I gasped and ran around the mummy case so I was in the open air now.

"Megan! Go!" Buttercup shouted.

Grubber had them captive.

"Save yourself!" Bubbles added.

"I can't leave you here," I told them.

"Gotcha!" Ace exclaimed, grabbing me around my waist.

"Let me go!" I demanded.

"No, I don't think so," Ace said softly. "Not this time."

"Oh no! Megan!" Blossom screamed.

Ace started dragging me along with him to some random hallway in the museum. "We're gonna go get Billy, Arturo, and Snake," he said, stroking my hair with his fingers.

"No we're not!" I argued.

"And what are you gonna do about it?" Ace wanted to know. "Kick me with your broken foot?"

I was starting to feel very angry.

"I'm not taking anymore from you, Ace," I declared. I wrenched myself free from him and punched him in the face as hard as I could!

"Ow!" he shouted, rubbing his nose. His glasses had fallen off. He bent down to pick them up.

I ran toward the room where the mummy case had been.

Grubber still had the Power Puff Girls captive, and was standing right by the mummy case. The girls were crying for help.

"Yo, Grubber!" I called. I took off my jacket and whacked him on the face with it. He fell over backwards and let the girls go. "Spit on _that."_

"Come on, let's go!" Blossom insisted.

"Hurry!" Bubbles said.

I got a sad feeling then from seeing how the girls feared Grubber so much. It was a feeling that told me that the Power Puff Girls _weren't_ indestructible.

"Okay, let's go," I said.

So the four of us walked outside.

Then all of a sudden there were people running for their lives all around Townsville.

There was the sound of a shotgun shooting in the air and someone shouting something in a country accent.

"Oh no," Buttercup groaned, shaking her head.

"What's going on?" I asked curiously.

"Fuzzy Lumpkin's gone plum crazy!" Bubbles explained. "AGAIN!"

"What?" I said confusedly.

Then I saw some crazy fluffy pink monster with suspenders and green antennas running and screaming like a madman! He was the one holding the shotgun.

"Fuzzy Lumpkins!" Blossom shouted. "Let's get him, girls!"

So the three girls flew right toward the monster. Wow, I wouldn't go near anything that was holding a gun- especially not _that_ thing.

I watched as the Power Puff Girls punched and kicked the monster in a barrage of pink, blue, and green. The monster was about to give up…

But then he smacked the girls into a building with the side of his shotgun! He laughed evilly as they fell onto the ground.

"Take that, Power Puff Girls!" he shouted.

I ran over to the girls to see if they were alright. I knelt down beside them. "Girls, are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

"Yeah," Blossom replied faintly, slowly lifting her head. "We'll be fine… in a minute or so."

People continued running and screaming.

Fuzzy waved his gun in the air triumphantly.

Angrily, I snuck up behind him, grabbed his gun, and began hitting him with it over and over again.

"This is what you get for messing with the Power Puff Girls!" I said.

"Ow!" he kept saying. "Stop! Stop! Stop it!"

I'd never been so insane in my life. Finally he fell over. He was definitely still alive (good, cause otherwise would be bad), but he was down for the moment. He groaned and stared at the ground.

The Power Puff Girls, suddenly feeling better so soon, flew up to me and stared at what I had done.

Then I realized a bunch of citizens from Townsville were standing around us too, also observing what I had done.

And then I saw the Gangreen Gang, only standing a few feet in front of me. All five members had shocked- maybe even _scared_- expressions on their permanently sickly faces.

I was panting. I'd never fought so much before.

Then after a few more moments of silence the citizens of Townsville started cheering! They cheered and applauded and all ran toward me, asking me all sorts of questions.

"Wow, Megan!" Buttercup exclaimed joyfully. "That was so awesome! You kept hitting him and all that! Pow! Bam! Wham! And then he's down!"

I glanced over at Fuzzy, who was being arrested by some police officers.

Buttercup got out of breath. "Man, it was amazing," she said while panting. "That was great. I didn't even think you could do any of that."

"What are you saying?" I asked.

"I always thought you were a wimp," she replied bluntly.

I frowned but then forgave her a minute later.

"That was pretty cool, Megan," Blossom told me.

_"Cool?!"_ Bubbles repeated. "Cool doesn't even describe it! It was waaaay coolier than cool! It was the most cooliest thing ever!"

I laughed kindly and pat Bubbles on the head.

"Alright, everybody! Calm down!" a little old man's voice shouted through a foghorn. Everyone turned around, and there was a little old man, with a black hat, a purple suit, and a large white mustache. He was standing next to a shapely young woman with frizzy red hair hiding her face.

The citizens of Townsville got quiet.

The little old man cleared his throat and looked at some scroll or other type of piece of paper. "As you all know, I'm the Mayor of Townsville, ya da ya da ya da, bla bla bla, and… uh, Miss Bellum, what's that word?"

He turned to the woman beside him and pointed to a word on his scroll.

"Honor," the woman told him.

"Oh yes! Honor!" the mayor said, sounding satisfied. "Excellent! Thank you, Miss Bellum. Anyways, I would like to honor this, uh, young girl in front of all of us for her violent, yet heroic, act against the evil Fuzzy Lumpkins."

He pointed at me. Then he said something to himself, like he was thinking. Then he said to me, "Er, what's your name?"

"Megan Brody," I replied.

"Megan Brody!" the mayor said. "Pleased to meet you, Megan Brody. I'm the mayor, and this, uh, here's Miss Bellum."

Wow, this _was_ an honor; getting congratulated by the mayor of the city. I couldn't wait till Richard heard about it. I'd be his favorite again, and maybe Ima would know not to mess with me.

The citizens of Townsville started chanting my name. They pat me on the back and thanked me for fighting off one of their enemies.

I caught Ace's eye.

He looked angry. I frowned back at him. I saw he then whispered something to his gang members and they all glared cautiously back at me as they slowly walked away. They were afraid of me now. It was so obvious. I was somewhat glad, and yet, still somewhat not very happy about that.

There were reporters standing everywhere, telling the camera about what had just happened.

Over the next few days I was given all sorts of special treatment. People did things for me, paid for me to go to cool places, and I was even interviewed for another television special. I was invited to the mayor's office to visit the mayor and Miss Bellum.

And Richard paid more attention to me than ever, even when Ima was around. Ima seemed a little jealous, but she still seemed a little satisfied for some reason. And I didn't like that very much.

One day a bunch of camera people and a television reporter stalked me to an ice cream parlor where I was hanging out with the Power Puff Girls.

"Megan, many of the citizens have been talking lately," the reporter explained. "And they've been saying they would like to see you join as a member of the Power Puff Girls."

He looked at me and then looked at the girls for approval.

"That sounds like a great idea!" Bubbles squealed.

"Yeah, that would be totally awesome!" Buttercup agreed.

"That would be pretty neat," Blossom said.

"But I don't have powers," I reminded them.

"So what?" Buttercup wanted to know.

The reporter said, "The citizens thought that your impressive combat skills are enough to make you the perfect fourth Power Puff Girl."

"Sounds like a plan," I said smiling.

I liked the idea.

The girls said "Yay" and gave me a hug.

The next day I went over to the Morbuck's house to baby sit Princess again. She was _furious_ about the whole thing. She'd seen it on TV all week.

"YOU GET TO BE A POWER PUFF GIRL!" she asked angrily. "THAT ISN'T FAIR! I'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE A POWER PUFF GIRL, BUT THEY NEVER LET ME! AND NOW THEY SUDDENLY LET YOU BE A POWER PUFF GIRL?! IT JUST ISN'T FAIR!"

"Gee, sorry, Princess," I apologized.

I started laughing behind her back.

Then I started fighting with the Power Puff Girls whenever there was a robbery, kidnapping, break-in, or crime of any other sort. The villains kept coming for the next few days, but then finally they stopped. They were no match for Power Puff Megan.

But strangely enough, the Gangreen Gang didn't commit anymore crimes for a while. I _knew _they were scared of me. It wasn't fair. I would have liked to maybe confront them; demand Ace his problem.

That wasn't gonna happen.

Ace was a coward, and neither he nor the other members of his gang were gonna come out of hiding.

I'd never ever see him again unless I were to trespass their dump again and scare them to death.

I was becoming a sensation. I was showing up in all these magazines, news paper articles, and even on the internet. People even started making action figures, Barbie dolls, and other merchandise products based on me!

Blossom just got suspicious. She said that she hadn't seen MoJo Jo Jo come out of his tower in ages, yet she'd seen him do it every day since my fame started to pick up his newspaper and bring it inside his tower.

This made me uncomfortable. I didn't even know how the guy looked, let alone anything else about him. All I knew was that he was one of the most feared criminals in Townsville, and he was interested in me. Me! Creepiness!

"We're gonna watch out for you, Megan," Blossom assured me.

I nodded and gulped. I hated to think about what MoJo was planning for me, if he was planning anything at all.

One day when a giant monster decided to attack, Blossom suggested I stay home because I'd never fought a giant monster before. She told me she'd teach me how to fight one some day. But apparently she didn't help Bubbles and Buttercup fight the monster. She had been at MoJo's tower, spying on him. And then she didn't tell me what she saw him doing afterward.

"I'm still not sure yet," she told me. "I'll let you know when I get any information."


	9. When a Stranger CallsWholeCity'sInvited

One day while Megan is glorifying in her fame she gets a call from the creepy HIM, who wants her to baby sit for his adopted sons the Rowdy Ruff Boys.

Also, Richard has gotten engaged to Ima, so they throw a party. Ace visits Megan at the party, and right when Megan starts to really have feelings for Ace she realizes he is only getting involved with her to get her in trouble.

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

When a Stranger Calls/The Whole City's Invited

Chapter 9

Richard had given up answering the phone a while ago since all the calls were for me now. I was always juggling between my home phone, my cell phone, and two other phones we'd just bought because we just didn't have enough phones for all the calls I was getting these days.

One day while I was talking to some boy who was my age I was interrupted by another phone ringing.

"Oh, isn't that just great?" I muttered sarcastically.

_"What's wrong?"_ the boy asked.

"Nothing," I said. "I'm getting another call. Don't forget about me, please. I'll call you back later. Believe me; I don't want to lose touch."

_"Sounds good to me,"_ he said.

Then I hung up and answered the other phone. "Hello?" I asked, hoping the aggravation in my voice didn't show too much.

_"Hell-O,"_ said an extremely unpleasantly high pitched voice on the other end of the phone. Fear ran through me right when I heard it.

"Uh… may I help you?" I asked timidly.

_"I think so,"_ the voice continued. _"Is this Megan Brody; the Power Puff Girl/ baby sitter?" _

Darn it, this call really was for me.

"Yes," I said. "This is she. Who are you?"

_"This is Him,"_ the voice replied.

I accidentally laughed. "Nah, honestly, who is this?"

_"Him,"_ the voice repeated, sounding a little agitated.

"Who's he?" I wanted to know.

_"My name,"_ he growled.

"Oh," I said uneasily. "Sorry. Forgive me."

_"Forgiven," he_ chuckled calmly.

"Did you have a question or something?" I asked.

_"Yes,"_ he said. _"I'm a very busy individual and I've got my claws tied with three very rambunctious young boys. I was wondering if you wouldn't mind-"_

"Baby sitting," I sighed tiredly. "When?"

_"I was kinda thinking today,"_ he giggled. _"The sooner the better, dear; if it isn't too much trouble." _

"No, it's no trouble at all," I assured him. "Should I put my dad on the phone so you can give him the directions to your house?"

_"No need for that, dear,"_ he laughed. _"I can give you the directions, myself. And you cannot come with your father or Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup. You must come ALONE. Does that sound alright with you, dear?" _

"Uh, yeah, sure, I guess," I said in response.

_"Good, dear,"_ he said satisfied. _"I'll be waiting." _

His voice echoed and then he hung up.

"Wait a second!" I shouted at the phone. "What about the directions? Ugh, what a reject."

Then suddenly a small piece of paper came out of the phone! Wow, that never happened before. I looked at it. It had tons of confusing directions written all over it. I figured I'd better start looking for the place before it was too late.

So I eventually found it.

It was a strange place that looked like nothing I'd ever seen before. There were tons of large screens everywhere, showing what different people were doing in different parts of the world. There was also flying furniture, tornadoes, and a vanity mirror.

Sitting at the vanity mirror was a terrifying creature. It was tall, thin, red with a beard, lobster claws for hands, an Elizabethan collar, a pair of high heeled stiletto leather boots, and a fluffy skirt! It was singing as it put powder all over its cheeks.

"Um," I said, approaching the thing. "Are you Him?"

Or are you his wife?

"Yes, I'm Him," he said, turning around. He had that awful high pitched voice he had over the phone.

"I'm Megan," I explained.

"Yes, yes, yes, I know," he said, standing up.

He put one of his claws on my shoulder and studied me. "You look exactly like you did on all those interviews. Don't think I wouldn't recognize you, you silly child."

Then he skipped off to one of his television screens, grabbed a remote, and rewound the tape. There I was, on one of my old live interviews.

"Did you tape all of those?" I gulped.

"Yes, dear," he laughed. "They were just so entertaining and interesting. I always wanted to know what my favorite little heroine was up to."

This was one of the things my mother had mentioned to me when she told me it was bad to be a celebrity: creepy, crazed fans.

"So, do you have anything for me to do at the moment?" I asked.

He turned around and glanced at me. "Just stand there for a moment, dear. I'll be with you right away. I just have to see something."

That was my chance to sneak away.

But he turned back around before I could make any sudden moves.

"You're a very attractive girl, aren't you?" he observed. I shuddered and looked down at the ground right away. He continued, "I think my boys are gonna like you a lot. That is, if they've gotten over their fear of cooties. I don't know what's with children these days."

He sat down on his couch and put his leg up in the air. "Do you?" he asked me.

"Well, I don't know," he said.

"Right," he chuckled. "I shouldn't have asked you. You're still a child, yourself."

I wanted to hit him with something.

I heard a bunch of yelling and shouting.

Him grinned. "Oh," he said, putting his claw to his mouth. "Goodness me, those must be the boys. They're a handful, I must warn you."

"You should see Princess Morbucks," I scoffed.

"Yes, she is an unruly child, isn't she?" Him agreed.

How did he know so much about everyone?

Then suddenly three little boys came flying in the room, while punching and hitting each other. I gasped. They looked a lot like the Power Puff Girls, but they were boys, so just a little different.

The first one reminded me of Blossom. He was wearing red instead of pink. His eyes were also red. He was wearing a cap instead of a bow, and had long red hair that went down his back.

The second one reminded me of Bubbles. He had shaggy blond hair but was wearing a darker shade of blue than Bubbles wore. He also had darker eyes.

The third one reminded me of Buttercup. He had spiky black hair and just wore a darker shade of green that Buttercup did. Same with his eyes.

But he seemed to be shaking uncontrollably.

"What's wrong with that one?" I asked Him.

"Oh, nothing," Him chuckled. "He's just extremely hyper; borderline insane!" Then Him cackled wickedly as if that was funny.

"Hey, Pa!" the one with the cap said, glaring at Him. "Why did you have to go invite some retarded lame-o girl here?"

"Boys, this is Megan Brody, your baby sitter," Him explained.

"She looks so lame-o!" the one with the cap repeated.

"Yeah, lame-o!" the blond one agreed.

"Let me at her!" the insane one begged excitedly.

"Megan, these are my boys," Him said. "That's Brick," he said pointing to the one with the red hair. "That's Boomer," he said pointing to the one with the blond hair. "That's Butch," he said pointing to the one with the black hair. "I think you're going to enjoy baby sitting them. They're characters!"

"Uh, hey, boys," I said nervously.

I'd never baby sat boys before. This would be even harder than baby sitting Princess.

"She said hi to us!" Boomer said, looking like he was in love.

Brick smacked him across the face. "Ew! That's icky! You don't want her to say hi to you! Nasty!"

"Very nasty!" Butch agreed.

"Excuse me!" I snapped.

"Just ignore their boyish behavior," Him told me. "They're still young. Just give them a little time to mature."

I really didn't care whether they matured or not.

"Um, are you going anywhere?" I asked Him.

If he wasn't going anywhere I could have headed home, unless he actually really _did_ have to go somewhere.

"Yes I am, as a matter of fact," he said, standing up at once.

He put one claw on Brick's shoulder and the other on Butch's shoulder. "Now, boys, try to behave," he told them. "I want you to get to know your new baby sitter. _Really_ get to know her, if you know what I mean."

He winked at them and they started laughing.

I shifted uncomfortably. What were they thinking at the moment?

"And Megan, I want you to have fun!" Him said when he was at the door. "Relax!"

"Do you have any guidelines?" I asked.

"What?" he said.

"Guidelines; like instructions on what to feed them and stuff like that," I explained, rolling my eyes. I thought I had been perfectly clear.

"Oh no," he chuckled, shaking his head. "They know all that stuff, themselves."

"Then what do you want me to do?" I asked curiously.

"Just hang out," he replied. "And tell them about what it's like being a Power Puff Girl. They'll find that entertaining. Explain it to them. Give them information on you and your friends. Oh, and, don't forget to tell them about your family and lifestyle."

Then he waved his claw once more and disappeared. "Ta ta!" he laughed hysterically.

"I am _not_ gonna tell them about my family and lifetime," I scoffed. Him was crazy.

"Ah man!" Brick groaned. "Now we're alone with this retarded lame-o girl!"

"If you call me 'lame-o' one more time I am going to send ya'all to your room without lunch," I threatened.

"You can't make us do that!" Butch argued.

Then the three of them flew over to a kitchen and began snacking on potato chips, pretzels, cheetohs, candies, and a bunch of other unhealthy foods.

"That is no way to eat," I told them when I walked over to them.

"We don't need you telling us that," Brick said.

"Uh, yes you do," I argued. "I'm your baby sitter. I have authority over you. I can tell you what to do. And right now I'm telling you to eat something healthier."

"Yes, ma'am," Boomer said, stopping eating.

"Awww," I said, patting him on the back. "Now, guys, look what a good boy Boomer is. He put the bad food down. Boomer, do you think you're gonna try something healthy like salad?"

"I think so," Boomer replied.

"Ew! No way!" Brick said in disgust. He smacked Boomer across the face.

"Never mind," Boomer sighed.

"Hey!" I snapped at Brick. "He's your brother! You can't just keep hitting him like that."

"I _can't?" _Brick said smirking.

He, Butch, and even Boomer started laughing.

"What is so funny?" I wanted to know, folding my arms across my chest.

"You are!" Boomer laughed goofily.

"Oh, Boomer," I said taking a deep breath. "And I thought you were gonna actually start being nice to me."

"Nice to _you?"_ Brick repeated in outrage. "Do you know who you're talking to, sister?"

"Um… Brick, Boomer, and Butch?" I guessed.

"Well, duh!" Butch said.

"You're talking the Rowdy Ruff Boys!" Brick shouted.

All three of the boys struck a pose.

"I don't care whether I'm talking to the Rowdy Ruff Boys or not," I said.

Boomer gasped.

"You better take that back!" Brick growled.

"Let me at her!" Butch begged. "Let me at her!"

"I'm not afraid of you," I scoffed. "The three of you are just normal little boys… with super powers. You're just like any other six year old boys in the history of the world: annoying, crude, and smart mouthed. I don't care what you say or do. It's not gonna scare me. I'm just gonna laugh at you."

"Yes, you'll be _really _laughing after today," Brick muttered.

"Can you guys watch TV or something?" I asked them. "There's a thousand TV's in this room, as far as you can see, so I'm sure you'll find at least one entertaining thing to watch."

The boys flew over to a screen that was showing someone with chicken pox on it.

"So awesome!" they kept saying.

"Cool!"

"Radical!"

"Don't make me puke," I groaned.

I needed to make a phone call.

I sat over in the kitchen and dialed the Power Puff Girl's number. I wanted to talk to them. I just hoped I would be able to hear them over the Rowdy Ruff Boy's loud exclaims and screams.

"Hello?" I asked.

_"Megan?"_ Blossom's voice said.

"Yes! Blossom, how are you?"

_"I'm good,"_ she replied. _"Megan, where are you? It sounds noisy." _

"Well, I'm baby sitting three little boys in this weird place with tons of tornadoes, screens with different things going on in different parts of the world, and furniture flying," I explained.

Blossom gasped. _"Don't tell me you're baby sitting for Him!" _

I got uncomfortable. "Well, I _am_…"

_"No, Megan!"_ Blossom said. _"Him's the evilest of the evil! The cruelest of the cruel! And those boys you're baby sitting for are the Rowdy Ruff Boys! They're some of our worst enemies!" _

My heart started beating fast.

"So, they're really dangerous?" I asked meekly.

_"Yes, very," _Blossom said.

"But how am I supposed to get out of here?" I wanted to know. "Don't you think Him would hurt me or something if the boys told Him I ran away?"

_"You have to figure out a way!"_ Blossom insisted.

She started giving me orders when Boomer grabbed me by my arm.

"Come on, Megan!" he insisted, yanking on my arm.

"Yeah, wait till you see her face!" I could hear Brick telling Butch. Butch was laughing.

"This'll be entertaining," he said.

"No, Boomer, I have to talk to someone," I said.

"Talk to them later!" he demanded.

"Bye, Blossom," I said hanging up.

Boomer sat me down in between Brick and Butch. Then he pointed up at the screen in front of us. I gasped. It was Richard. He was walking on the side of Townsville with Ima. They were holding hands.

"Finally alone!" Ima giggled, kissing Richard on the lips.

"Yeah, I know," Richard agreed, taking a deep breath. "Wow, what a life we've been having."

"I know. It's _exhausting!"_ Ima said.

"I'm proud of Megan," Richard said.

"Me too!" Ima agreed.

Sure you are.

"Things have been so crazy lately," Richard said. "It's been great. We've been getting so much more money and I've gotten more recognition."

"That's wonderful," Ima said. She grimaced. "And Megan's even scared off the Gangreen Gang so they've stopped robbing banks and stuff."

"Yes, I know," Richard chuckled.

"But, Richie, there's one thing missing," Ima said in a seductive tone of voice.

"What is it?" Richard wanted to know.

"I love being your girlfriend, Richie," Ima explained. "But I want to be so much _more._ And I don't know how to explain the feeling."

"You're absolutely right," Richard told her. "And I know how to fix that."

He knelt down and pulled out something shiny.

Two weeks later was their rehearsal dinner. Who has their wedding two weeks after their proposal? Only clumsy Richard and overly eager Ima. The whole city was invited because most everyone was a friend of either Richard or Ima now.

The Power Puff Girls hadn't even met my to-be step mother yet, so they were planning on doing that tonight. The mayor and Miss Bellum were there. And so was Professor Utonium. Also, the Smith's were there, and a bunch of other neighbors.

Some lady who looked like she was in her middle thirties with pale skin and black hair walked up to me with a big smile on her face.

"Congratulations on your fame and your father's wedding," she told me.

"Thank you," I said smiling.

Whoever you are.

"Miss Keane!" the Power Puff Girls exclaimed, flying up to her and giving her a hug.

"Oh, hello girls!" she said, looking excited to see them.

"Megan, this is Miss Keane," Blossom explained. "She was our kindergarten teacher."

"Oh, nice to meet you," I told her.

"Nice to meet you too," she said in response.

"So, when are we gonna meet your new almost-step mother?" Blossom asked me.

"Probably soon," I said with a shrug.

"Megan!" Ima squealed, running up to me. "You should see the cake we're having for the rehearsal! It's absolutely exquisite!"

She gave me a hug and had a huge smile on her face.

Who are you and what have you done with Ima?

"Uh, yeah, sure," I told her, confusedly.

Then she frowned when she saw the Power Puff Girls. "Girls," she said.

"Ima," Blossom said in reply. She looked angry.

"Nice to see you again," Ima said. But from the look on her face I could tell that she wasn't happy to see the girls again at all.

"Again?" I repeated. "You've met?"

"Yes," Blossom said.

"We have," Buttercup said.

"As a matter of fact," Bubbles said.

All three girls had their arms folded over their chests. They glared up at Ima.

"What's with the long faces, girls?" Ima giggled innocently. "You can come and look at the cake too, if you want to. Never said you couldn't."

Then she ran away as fast as she possibly could.

"That's the mother," I told the girls.

"That's what I was afraid of," Blossom said.

I didn't feel like getting into that right now. "You girls can run along," I told them. "I need just a few minutes in privacy to think about things."

They nodded and walked away.

Then the music slowed down to a ballad and everyone started slow dancing. I was the only one without someone to dance with. I gasped. I saw the Gangreen Gang enter the room. I looked away.

I felt their eyes on me. I knew they were observing the way I looked in my dress. Then I noticed Snake, Billy, Arturo, and Grubber walking over to the buffet area. Ace started toward me.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, my voice trembling. "Did you decide to crash the party?"

"No," he replied. He put his hand on my waist and then held my hand with the other. He started dancing with me! Ew!

"Then why are you here?" I wanted to know.

"I wanted a dance," he explained.

"Yeah, sure," I scoffed.

"I ain't kidding you," he snapped. "You know, I've been kind of a jerk to you. And I'm sorry."

"Oh, now that I'm a famous heroine?" I asked.

"Where did this big ego come from?" Ace asked. "You seem so confident nowadays, when you're on TV and stuff. I'll tell you this: confidence doesn't come with fame, Cinderelly. It comes with belief. Believe in yourself. Believe in me."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?" I asked. "You aren't very good at this motivational talk, are you?"

"No, not very," Ace chuckled.

I laughed and looked away. We laughed awkwardly for the next few minutes. "How do you feel about this marriage?" he asked me.

I gave him a look. "Marriage?"

"Your dad and that lady," Ace clarified.

"Oh." I laughed again. _"Their_ marriage."

"Yeah, uh, what other marriage were you thinking about?" he laughed.

"Nothing," I said. "I just forgot."

"Well, what do you think about it?"

"I don't know," I sighed shaking my head. "Honestly, I don't like Ima very much. She isn't a good person at all, and… and..."

"You're not sure how to tell your dad that," Ace finished for me.

"Yeah. Yeah! It's a lot like that," I agreed.

"I know how you feel," Ace said in a soft tone of voice.

"No you don't," I argued. "You never cared about anything. All you ever do is harass people, steal things, and cause trouble with your gang."

Ace tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.

"You've got me all wrong, Megan," he whispered. "All wrong."

"I don't know what to think anymore," I sighed.

He held me tighter.

"Megan!" Richard's voice called. I knew he was running up to us. "Megan!" I turned around and looked at him. He looked concerned. "Megan?"

"Oh. Dad." I stepped away from Ace.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Richard asked, pointing at Ace.

"Well…" I stuttered. "Well… well… well."

"The whole city was invited, sir," Ace reminded Richard.

"You be quiet!" Richard told him. "I've taken enough nonsense from you and your gang for the last few months. You belong in jail and you know it."

"He was just trying to help me," I explained.

"Help you with _what?"_ Richard wanted to know. "He's a bad kid, Megan. He's the complete opposite of what you are. You are to stay away from him."

"Fine, fine, fine, sir," Ace said, putting his hands up in the air defensively. "I only dropped by to say hi. I'll be on my way."

He was about to walk away when Ima ran up.

She gasped dramatically and grabbed onto Richard's suit.

"It's that green boy!" she wailed. "And Megan's… Megan's… _dancing with him!"_

"No I wasn't," I argued. "Not really."

"No, no, it was my fault, really," Ace insisted.

"Richie, darling," Ima said, clinging tighter to Richard. "Didn't you tell Megan to stay away from the Gangreen Gang- especially _ACE?!!!!" _

"Yes, I think I did," Richard said.

"I think there's only one way to let Megan know that what she did was wrong, but, oh, it's too extreme!" Ima gasped for air.

"What is it?" Richard asked. "Anything?"

"Ground her!" Ima explained. "Ground her, and make it so she can't baby sit or hang out with the Power Puff Girls for the rest of the summer!"

"What?!" I shouted.

"But shouldn't she come to the wedding tomorrow?" Richard asked.

"No, sadly," Ima sniffed. "The Power Puff Girls are gonna be there."

"Oh, then you're right," Richard sighed. "Megan, you also have to miss the wedding."

"What's wrong with you?" I wanted to know. "I'm your daughter and I'm not allowed to be at your wedding?"

"It's for your own good," Richard pointed out.

"I know it's hard, Megan, but it's the only way to save you from this horrible phase you're going through," Ima explained. "Not letting you do the things you love for a certain amount of time will teach you a lesson and teach you to listen to your elders, because they care about you."

"You're doing this on purpose!" I snapped.

"No she's not, Megan," Richard argued. "She's only trying to help you."

Ima smirked at me. I glared back at her.

"Ima! Richard!" Miss Keane called. "You've gotta come over and see this! The Mayor's about to make a toast, and Miss Bellum's gonna help him out because he doesn't know what to say. It's gonna be hilarious! Come over here!"

Ima and Richard ran over to that table.

"That's just like Ima," I sighed shaking my head.

"Gee, I sure am sorry, Megan," Ace apologized, leaning against the wall. "You were right about Ima." For some reason he didn't seem sincerely sorry.

_"Sure_ you're sorry," I said sarcastically.

I stormed past him over to a nearby table.

I turned around and saw his gang members walk over to him. They were all laughing and giving him high fives. He looked so amused and proud of himself. I shook my head in disgust. He had somehow meant to do this to me on purpose.

His gang members seemed to notice I was looking at them. Snake stopped laughing immediately and nudged Ace in the side. Ace looked up at me and I looked down at the table. I was furious.

"Megan, the cake's great!" Bubbles squealed, running up to me. She was holding a slice of cake. "It's vanilla on the outside; chocolate on the inside!"

I didn't want her to see me cry but she did.

"What's wrong, Megan?" she asked, holding my hand.

"I don't know where to begin, Bubbles," I sighed. "Ace doesn't even care that he's helped Ima ruin my relationship with my dad. I just don't know where to go anymore. I feel like I'm alone in the world; like I don't have a friend to talk to."

"I'll be your friend to talk to," Bubbles said.

I smiled down at her and then gave her the biggest hug I'd ever given her before. She returned the hug. I just stood there, hugging her for the next few minutes. I didn't want to tell her that I wasn't allowed to hang out with her or baby-sit her for the rest of the summer. I didn't want to see her upset.

"Can we head back to your house?" I asked Bubbles. "I'm not sure I want to be here anymore."

I wanted to just spend one more night at the Utonium's home.

"Sure," Bubbles replied. "I don't want to be here either."

We put our arms around each other and headed out the door.

We hid behind a car when we heard Ima's voice. Ima was speaking harshly to someone. The second person spoke. It was Ace! Gasp! Ima was speaking to Ace? What about? Bubbles and I got quiet and listened in.

"At first I just thought you were a very good actor, but now I'm starting to get suspicious!" Ima shouted. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think it seemed like you actually cared about Megan!"

"No, I don't care! Honest!" Ace snapped.

"You seemed so hurt by the whole thing," Ima pointed out, using an insulting tone of voice. "I could tell you may have actually felt her pain."

"Are you kidding me?" Ace laughed. "I _want_ her pain! She's a worthless little nothing and I honestly don't care what happens to her."

I felt my face turn hot. Bubbles exchanged glances with me. She held my hand, lifted me into the air, and flew me home.

Before we were out of earshot I heard Ima saying, "That's my boy."

Bubbles and I were the only two in the Utonium's house.

"I hate Ima," I sighed, shaking my head.

"I hate her too," Bubbles agreed.

"How could she do this?" I groaned, burying my face in my hands. "She used Ace against me to separate me from my dad."

"It's terrible," Bubbles said.

"At this point, I think it's almost better for me to go back to New York with my mom," I said.

"But I'd miss you too much," Bubbles said. "Me and my sisters would miss you."

"I'd miss you too," I agreed. "But I just don't really like being here anymore, and especially now since I'm not even allowed to see you guys."

"We promised we'd kick her butt!" Bubbles pointed out, referring to Ima. "And a promise is a promise!"

"I don't think Richard would like that very much," I sighed.

"The Professor didn't mind," Bubbles muttered.

I only _thought_ I heard that, so I moved on.

"I'm not even allowed to help save the day anymore," I pointed out.

"Me and my sisters will figure something out," Bubbles assured me.

"Thank you, Bubbles," I said. "You and your sisters are the best friends I ever had. You're better than any of my friends in New York."

Then I thought about my family history and added, "I think you're the only family I ever had."

Bubbles gave me another big hug.

The next day Bubbles and I stayed at one of the many parks during the wedding. Of course Richard didn't know about it because he had forgotten to check if I was home when he got home last night.

I hoped there wouldn't be any villains there, even though MoJo's tower was right there.

"Am I ever gonna see this MoJo Jo Jo person?" I asked curiously.

"Hopefully not," Bubbles replied, shaking her head.


	10. Revenge

HIM sends Megan a crime note saying that he has kidnapped her father and locked him up in the Townsville Museum of Natural History. Bubbles goes to the museum with Megan to rescue Richard. But as it turns out, Richard isn't there and the whole thing was just a scam to get Megan to the museum so all the villains could take their anger out on her.

But Megan meets Mojo JoJo, who tells her he is willing to protect her from the other villains if she joins him. Also, things get even more complicated with Ace.

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

Revenge

Chapter 10

Richard and Ima had their honeymoon in Hawaii. They were gone for a while so it really didn't matter whether I hung out with the Power Puff Girls or not. In fact, I started hanging out with the girls more than ever since I had no parents to come home to. I moved in with the Utonium's for a while.

One day we got a letter in the mail. Bubbles and I walked over to the mailbox. I gasped when I read the letter. "It's from Richard," I said.

Bubbles read it aloud, "Dear Megan, I sent the letter to this address because I know you're probably with the Utonium's right now. The reason I wrote this letter is because I have been kidnapped. I've been kidnapped and taken to the museum. I know you can save me, Megan."

"This is really bad," I said.

"Is this written in his handwriting?" Bubbles asked.

"I think so," I said with a shrug.

"Wait there's a note at the bottom," Bubbles said. She read it aloud, "Megan, if you get this letter please come to the museum to retrieve your father. But you must come ALONE. Don't bring the Power Puff Girls with you. You need to rescue your father properly. Signed, Him."

I gulped. "Um, isn't that that cruelest of the cruel person?"

"Yep," Bubbles said nodding.

"And he wants me to go _alone_ to the museum."

"I'll come with you," Bubbles said holding my hand. "I need to help you."

"So I'm guessing we need to go there as soon as possible."

"I guess so."

So she flew me over to the museum.

"The museum's locked at this hour," I pointed out. It was getting to be evening.

"We need to get inside anyway," Bubbles said. She used her laser eyes to open the door. Then we ran inside.

The museum was completely dark, except for the silhouette of the back a guy tied up in a chair that was hanging from the ceiling.

"Help me!" he cried in Richard's voice. "Help!"

"There he is," Bubbles told me.

She flew up to the chair and I stood on the ground below it, waiting for Bubbles to help him down. Then she did.

"Are you okay, Dad?" I asked.

But then it turned out that that guy was Grubber instead of Richard! He started spitting uncontrollably and spun in circles.

_"AAAAGGGHHH!!!!"_ Bubbles and I screamed.

We jumped back in shock.

"Gotchesssss ya!" Snake exclaimed, coming up from behind me and grabbing me. Arturo came up from behind Bubbles and grabbed her.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Suddenly the lights went on, revealing a thousand criminals. They were all standing in a circle glaring at Bubbles and I.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, Megan," Him said in an extremely high pitched voice. He was sitting on top of a glass box. "I told you to come ALONE!" he shouted angrily. Then he lightened up again. "Clumsy me. I guess I wasn't clear enough."

"Where's my father?" I wanted to know.

"Your father's still in Hawaii, silly child," Him explained, jumping off the box thingy and standing on the ground. "You see, the only reason we tricked you into coming here was to have our revenge."

"You didn't make me a Power Puff Girl!" Princess whined.

"You beat the daylights out of me with my shotgun!" Fuzzy complained.

"You're a lame-o girl!" Brick shouted.

"You didn't take us seriously," Bossman pointed out.

"And so now you're gonna get it!" Him laughed evilly.

"Get what?" I asked.

Him thought for a moment. "Get _it,"_ he said.

"Yeah, I really know what that is," I scoffed rolling my eyes.

Then out of nowhere all these villains charged toward me. Snake screamed and let me go. I stood there for a moment, wondering what to do.

"Run, Megan! Run!" Bubbles told me.

"What?" I said.

_"Run!"_ she repeated.

"Oh!" I said. Then I started running. Bubbles was still trying to break free from Arturo. She finally did and then flew toward all the villains that were chasing me so she could try to stop them.

I found a fork in the hallway, and went in one direction. The villains all went in the other. I stood by the wall and took a moment to catch my breath.

Then something slammed into the wall!

I screamed and started running again. It was Fuzzy's banjo.

"There she goes!" Fuzzy told the other villains.

They started chasing after me again.

I noticed Bubbles was fighting Princess.

Then I quickly ran into a small little room with keys dangling from the door. I slammed the door shut and locked the door with the keys. All the villains were banging on the door, trying to get inside.

I sighed of relief. I was safe for the moment.

Then I turned around and gasped.

There was lightning and thunder outside the window. When the lightning went off I could actually see who else was in the room.

It was Ace. He was wearing some thick brown coat and was leaning against the wall. He looked really angry. He started walking toward me.

"What's going on?" I demanded to know.

"Maybe nothing and maybe something," he replied with a shrug. "It doesn't matter now. All that matters is that you're here and I'm here."

"Are… are… are you gonna do anything?" I asked timidly when he stood really close to me.

"Maybe," he said. "And maybe not."

When he got too close I backed up. I backed up so far that now my back was against the door. He had me trapped up against the door now.

"Well, can you sorta tell me now?" I asked.

"Why would I wanna do that?" he chuckled.

I pushed him by his shoulder. It was pitiful. He only moved an inch. He started laughing.

"Because you don't want me to hurt you," was my answer to his question.

"Oh, yeah?" he asked. "I don't think you can do it."

He just stared at me for a long while.

I stared back at him.

He just waited for me to do something.

I just groaned and sank down to the ground.

Ace lifted his foot over my head like he was gonna kick me or something. "Let's finish this," he said. But before he could do anything somebody punched him really hard in the back so he fell.

I looked up and saw a monkey standing in front of me. A monkey! But he was wearing clothes! He was wearing gloves, a long purple cape, and a helmet that covered his strangely enormous head.

"What the heck?" I said.

Then the monkey started speaking.

"I am MoJo Jo Jo," he explained. "I have rescued you, which means that I have saved your life from that amateurish adolescent criminal right there on the hard tile floor. He is not dead, as you can see, but he is certainly down and out, and will take a very long time to get back up and feel strong again. You should be eternally grateful to me forever for my bold, heroic, valiant act."

"You're a monkey!" I pointed out.

He slapped himself in the face. "You're kinda missing the basic point here," he said.

"You're MoJo Jo Jo!" I said. "You're that terrible bad guy everyone was talking about. And you're a monkey!"

"Well, technically speaking, I'm a chimp. There is a difference," he corrected.

I started laughing. "And all this time I thought you were actually going to be _scary." _

"I _am _scary!" he argued in an angry voice. "I can be very frightening at times, and, also very terrifying! All the pathetic little citizens of this town are afraid of me! I can bring this city to ruins! Mua ha ha ha!"

I blinked once or twice. "Uh, yeah, and, um, _you _were the one that brought the power plant building down?"

"Yes, I created that destruction all by myself with help from my RoboJoJo! That is my latest creation (in other words, it is the ingenious invention I have most recently invented)," he explained.

"So I'm guessing I should stay away from you," I said, inching away from him.

"No! No!" MoJo snapped. "Don't go away! You see, I may be a terrifying villain, but I, MoJo Jo Jo, would never _dream_ of harming Megan Brody."

I looked down at the ground.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Look at you!" MoJo pointed at me. "Look at him!" He pointed at Ace, who was busy moaning that he had a headache. "He almost destroyed you in front of my very own eyes."

I turned red. "Well, uh…"

"And what about all those other villains that were just banging on the door but are now gone?" MoJo asked. "They obviously wanted to destroy you just as much as this one here did."

"What's your point?" I wanted to know.

I turned around and noticed that the villains who had been banging on the door a few minutes earlier weren't there anymore. MoJo was right.

"My point is that even though you are supposed to be a heroine, none of them are scared of you," he explained. "They are just angry and want to defeat you. And you've just proven to them that you aren't the tough super hero you seemed to be. Am I right?"

I didn't answer. He continued, "But they're gone now that they've seen _me! _That immature juvenile delinquent down there is out of the race because _I _came and kicked his butt! Know what I mean?"

"That you're superior to me?" I said.

"Well, kinda," MoJo said. "It means they respect me and are so scared of me that they run for their pathetic little lives! Mua ha ha ha! They're _all _afraid of me (except for Him, who scares everybody)."

"And why are you telling me this?" I wanted to know.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" he insisted. "I'm getting there! I'm getting there! So what do you think is going to happen if you are all by yourself and are attacked by a villain or criminal?"

"The Power Puff Girls protect me," I replied proudly.

He laughed hysterically. "Wrong! The Power Puff Girls protect you? Rubbish! Haven't you seen them diminished in the past?"

I remembered when Fuzzy had knocked them out with his shotgun. Then I remembered when Grubber had terrified them in this museum and that Arturo still probably had Bubbles trapped.

"Yes," I sighed honestly.

"Exactly," MoJo said. "That's why you shouldn't look to _them _to protect you. You need someone who can actually overcome fear and pain to and protect you. Like me!"

"I don't know," I said shaking my head.

"No one would bother you," MoJo pointed out.

"I don't know," I repeated. "I gotta go. I gotta try to figure out a way how to rescue Bubbles."

"That isn't going to be very easy for you," he said when I turned the doorknob.

His remark angered me. He didn't have to tell me something I already knew. I turned around to give him a look. I saw that he had a sly smile on his face.

I frowned and entered the hallway.

The museum was mostly empty, except for the scattered criminals.

I gasped at every sound and thing that moved. After all, I was basically a dead girl walking in this place. Everybody was after me. I needed to be very quiet so nobody would find me.

"Bubbles?" I asked timidly. "Bubbles, where are you? Are you anywhere?"

I heard the sound of Fuzzy's shotgun go off.

I screamed and ran in the opposite direction.

_"Help!" _Bubbles' voice pleaded.

"Bubbles!" I gasped. I followed her voice to the front door of the museum. I looked out the glass window and saw the members of the Gangreen Gang (minus Ace) carrying Bubbles back to the dump.

Furious, I turned the doorknob to go run after them. But it was locked! I groaned out of frustration and banged on the glass door. I kicked at it, hoping that all the glass would shatter so I could get out.

"No use, huh?" Him's voice asked. "Pity."

"You let me out of here at once!" I demanded.

He appeared out of a swirly red tornado next to me. "You want me to do that?" he chuckled. "Why do you think I would do that for you?"

"Because I need to help Bubbles," I snapped.

"But I don't want you to help Bubbles," he yawned.

"I don't care what you want!" I shouted. "I only care what _I _want, and I want to get out of here! I'm not scared of _you._ You're just a weirdo in a dress that looks like they came out of _The Rocky Horror Picture_ _Show_ or something!"

"Why you little!" he said in a deep, menacing voice. His eyes turned completely white. I thought he was gonna zap me or something.

"Not so fast, Him," MoJo said, walking right up to Him. "You do not want to do what you were just thinking about doing."

"Who says I don't want to?" Him bellowed.

"Me," MoJo replied, raising his hand. "I did."

"And why should I listen to _you?"_ Him laughed. "You've never been _half_ the villain _I_ am."

"Are you kidding me?" MoJo asked. "I'm _twice_ the villain you are and you know it! You aren't the one who's had Townsville up in arms because of your mysterious lack of crime committing over the past few weeks. It's me!"

"You do have a point," Him sighed.

"And if you mess with Megan's wishes or plans ever again I will kidnap your Rowdy Ruff Boys, and tear up your home. Understood?"

"Understood," Him moaned.

MoJo gave me a thumbs up. "You might want to take a step back," he said. He kicked the glass door down.

"Wow, thanks," I told him.

"Oh no, the pleasure's all mine," MoJo said.

I jumped over the glass and ran toward the dump.

"This isn't over, Megan!" Him called after me. "I'm still going to defeat you once you're alone!"

"You might not want to do that," I heard MoJo argued.

I listened to the two of them banter back and forth as I continued to run toward the dump. I wasn't gonna let the Gangreen Gang have Bubbles. She was the best friend I ever had.

Out of breath, I made my way closer to it. It felt good to be out of that museum, but now I had a whole other task ahead of me.

I knew my father wouldn't approve of me going back to the dump (or at least he wouldn't have in the past; now he didn't seem to care either way), but I had a friend in need. I wasn't gonna let her down.

I got an eerie feeling when I reached the front of the dump. I hadn't been there since the night I figured out that Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup Utonium were the super Power Puff Girls.

The chain linked fence was closed and locked again, which meant I would need to climb over it… AGAIN. I whimpered a moment before I began climbing. I took my shoes off. It would be easier to just wear my socks on my feet as I climbed.

"Why do I always have to do this?" I moaned. "Why _me?"_

It was still stormy out; the way it had been the last time I came here. The dark didn't help me to see where I was going the least bit. Then I reached the top of the fence and was about to climb over to the other side of it, to complete this big move.

But then suddenly the fence swung open!

I held tight to it so I wouldn't fall off.

I looked down and saw Ace enter the dump. He was holding a pair of keys. He probably used those to unlock the fence to the dump.

My heart skipped a beat. Now I was going to have to deal with Ace, as _well_ as Snake, Grubber, Big Billy, and Little Arturo. I held tight to the fence until it was completely closed again. I wasn't gonna let myself fall from this high of a height. Then I finally got down to the ground and ran on the solid ground.

I didn't really know where I was running to, but I knew that I was gonna run further into the dump area so I could find Bubbles and rescue her. I was also planning on proving myself to the Gangreen Gang. I wasn't gonna listen to what MoJo said about me. I really _was_ gonna be strong and brave.

Then was when I heard them laughing evilly.

I peeked at them from behind the corner of the shed. I saw that Snake was holding a small, crying Bubbles and was about to put her inside a machine. I was about to do something about it until-

"Decided to start the party without me, huh?" Ace snapped at his gang.

"Ace!" they all gasped. "Where were you?"

"At the museum finishing off what was left of Megan Brody," Ace chuckled. "It was difficult, but I think I finally got her."

Bubbles started crying even louder.

"He's lying!" I shouted, stepping in front of all of them. Lightning flashed. I saw the look on all their faces. Ace looked mortified. Bubbles looked grateful. The rest of the Gangreen Gang looked confused.

"Uh, bossss, I thought you said you finissssshed her," Snake pointed out.

"Yeah, I thought I did too," Ace chuckled nervously.

"You're a liar," I told him. "I saw MoJo kick your butt. You're just trying to sound macho, aren't you? That's what you _always_ try to do."

He looked dumbfounded. He didn't know what to say.

"Pbbt!" Grubber exclaimed.

"Oh, right, Grubber!" Ace said. He glared at me. "We need to continue what we was doing. We gotta defeat this Power Puff Girl."

He glanced back at Bubbles.

"I don't think you can do that," I challenged him.

He walked up really close to me. He stared into my eyes and breathed angrily. "What makes you think that?" he wanted to know.

"I've gotten you before, Ace," I said with a smile. "You know I _still_ got you."

I could tell that was a very awkward moment for him. He didn't say anything. His gang all stared at him, waiting to see what he would do about it.

I felt good. I finally had the power.

"So, you may as well just hand Bubbles over," I said. "You obviously aren't the tough guy you seem to be."

"Never!" Ace snapped. "Snake, carry on."

Snake was about to do whatever he had been planning on doing to Bubbles but I said, "What makes ya'all think I'm gonna give up?"

"Megan, cut it out!" Bubbles demanded.

"Wait," I told her. "I need to clear things up."

"Ugh!" Ace groaned, slapping his hands to his head. "You really are a pain in the butt, aren't ya?"

"What's it gonna be, boy?" I asked.

Then he grinned. "Snake, let the Power Puff Girl go. I'm just about tired of Megan now."

"Really?" Snake asked. He bent down and let Bubbles go. Bubbles stayed put. She wasn't going anywhere without me.

"Yeah," Ace said. "I think we should help Megan put an end to her sad, pathetic little life."

I gasped and turned around to start running away. My leg wasn't completely healed so it was still kinda hard to run. Bubbles flew after me.

"Megan! I'm gonna save you!" she told me.

She lowered down and came toward me. She was about to lift me up into the air when the Gangreen Gang got closer. I sped up, leaving Bubbles flying quickly above me. Then the gang began throwing stuff at me; like old garbage and junk.

I made it to the chain linked fence. It was locked. So I tried to climb over it. Snake caught up. He grabbed me around my waist and threw me down onto the ground. I screamed when my head hit the hard floor.

Then all five gang members stood over me, laughing at me. I could barely see Bubbles above their heads anymore.

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Billy laughed. "Uh, Ace, what are we supposed to be doing?"

Ace groaned and shook his head. "Why don't you just watch and learn, my boy?" He pat his dumb friend on the shoulder.

"Uh, sure," Billy said.

Ace bent down beside me and ran his fingers through my hair. "So you really thought you were gonna beat us, huh?" he whispered in my ear.

But then Buttercup came along and punched him! Blossom punched Billy and Grubber. Bubbles punched Snake and Arturo.

The three girls lifted me into the air to fly me back to the Utonium's house.

"Not this time!" Ace shouted. While we were still close to the ground he grabbed onto my foot and hung on. I gasped. The girls gasped as well.

"Ace, you better let go!" Blossom demanded.

"I don't think so!" Ace argued.

Then we were up really high in the air.

"Is this too high for you, Ace?" Buttercup asked when she saw how scared he looked. She started laughing. "Might wanna just let go now."

"Never!" Ace held onto my leg even tighter.

"Megan, just kick him off!" Blossom told me.

"I'm not sure if I can do that," I admitted.

"Why not?" Buttercup wanted to know.

Well, first of all, I'd never done anything like that to anyone before. Second of all, I wasn't sure if I really wanted to hurt Ace or not. I bit my lip.

"I just can't do it," I declared.

"Ace, you're gonna have to let go!" Blossom demanded.

"I don't think so!" Ace scoffed.

"Buttercup, can you take him away or something?" Blossom asked in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Gladly," Buttercup replied. She let go of me, so Blossom and Bubbles could carry me home.

"Ah, you gotta be kidding me," Ace groaned.

Buttercup carried him back to the dump by his coat collar.

"You really need to stop going places, Megan," Blossom said.

"It's not my fault," I pointed out.

"Yeah, Him wrote her a fake letter from her father telling her to go to the museum," Bubbles explained.

"Oh." Blossom glanced down at me.

I didn't say anything when we got back to the Utonium's house.

"All we need to focus on right now is that the Gangreen Gang never finds out where Megan lives," Blossom whispered to both of her sisters when Buttercup got home from the dump.

I sat down in front of the TV, wondering when Richard was ever gonna come home; _if _he was ever gonna come home.

I thought about how the Gangreen Gang had made it so Bubbles was unable to get to me, and about what MoJo had said. Maybe the Power Puff Girls really weren't as strong as I thought. Maybe I _did_ need someone like MoJo to protect me. I remembered how he got Him to shut up back at the museum, and how he punched Ace out.

Sure, it would be embarrassing hanging out with him since he was a monkey, but I honestly needed to have the extra protection. I wasn't too liked lately, and so it didn't hurt to have a bodyguard around.

"Megan hasn't spoken in a while," Bubbles whispered.

"Ugh, don't tell me she's upset about Ace," Buttercup groaned.

"No, that's only _you_ who's upset about Ace, Buttercup," Blossom pointed out.

"That's a lie!" Buttercup snapped.

"No, it really isn't a lie, Buttercup," Blossom said. "We all know how much you still like Ace."

"I never did!" she snapped.

_"Sure,"_ Blossom said.

"Girls! Girls! Girls!" Bubbles screamed. "Girls, it doesn't matter anymore whether Buttercup was interested in the Gangreen Gang or not! All that matters is that we help Megan!"

Her sisters agreed and they went up to bed.


	11. Miss UndastoodTarget

Mojo tells Megan to do something she never thought she'd ever be told to do. She has to steal from the Power Puff Girls. Then she lies to them so they get angry at her, and tell her they don't want to see her ever again.

Also, Megan goes to work for her father since he's been gone for such a long time. She finds out why all the villains are so angry at her and things get more complicated than _ever_ with Ace.

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

Miss Understood

Chapter 11

That next day Richard and Ima still weren't home from their honey moon. For a moment I thought they'd never come back, and for a moment I _wished _they'd never come back.

The girls took me out for lunch. They were very careful while we were out though. They gasped at everything that moved. I was so targeted here in Townsville that they had to make sure the next lunch guests weren't there to make _me _lunch.

"I can't take this anymore!" Buttercup shouted. "It's so much pressure! Megan, you should have never become a Power Puff Girl in the first place. Think of all the villains you could have avoided running into!"

Okay, that was Fuzzy Lumpkins, Him, the Rowdy Ruff Boys…

"Buttercup, that wouldn't have made any difference," Blossom pointed out. "There were already lots of bad guys who were after her. Don't forget the Gangreen Gang. They were the first of her problems."

"And I don't think they're ever gonna quit," Bubbles added.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, cause one of them's got his heart set on defeating her," Buttercup huffed.

"That's right," Blossom said. "Megan had so many problems _before_ she becamea Power Puff Girl. No offense to you, Megan, or anything, I'm only about to tell the truth. Megan was kinda… _frail_… and so everyone she bothered wasn't afraid of her."

"Yeah, and they _still_ aren't," Buttercup said.

"Do you think the Gangreen Gang is afraid of her?" Bubbles asked curiously.

"I don't think so, Bubbles," Blossom sighed.

"Otherwise they wouldn't bother her so much!" Buttercup pointed out. "Hello! Duh, Bubbles!"

"Megan, are you okay?" Blossom asked me.

I nodded.

"You haven't spoken in two days," Buttercup said.

I finally said, "I'm fine, okay? I'm sorry."

"Sorry about what?" Blossom wanted to know. "It's not like you did anything wrong."

"Sorry that I came to Townsville in the first place and made your lives harder than they needed to be," I replied. I stood up and started off.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Blossom asked.

The three of them had flown after me.

"I'm just gonna get a breath of fresh air," I told them.

"Fine," Blossom sighed. "But come back into the restaurant right after you're done. We want you to be very careful, Megan."

I wanted to say "Why? Cause you don't think I can take care of myself?" But I didn't say that. I didn't say anything. I just nodded and they flew back to their seats. I got to the front door of the restaurant and opened it. Then I stood outside in the fresh air.

My heart beat fast. I stared up at Mojo's tower.

Mojo had made it pretty clear that I could come to him whenever I needed someone to protect me. After all, he was one of the most feared villains in all of Townsville. It wouldn't hurt to have him on my side. It wouldn't hurt at _all_.

So I took a deep breath and started toward the volcano tower. Everybody around me stared at me like I was crazy or something.

"What's Megan Brody doing going to Mojo's tower?" they all said to one another.

I ignored them. I approached the tower and rang the doorbell.

"Who is there?" Mojo's voice demanded over the speaker system.

"It's Megan Brody," I replied.

A long telescope-type-thingy (it wasn't a telescope, but it was something) stared right down at me and then Mojo opened the door.

"Megan!" he said in a much friendlier tone than he had used over the sound system thingy. "What are you doing standing outside so long? Come in, come in, come in."

We got inside this small, claustrophobic glass elevator and went up a few flights. I could see the volcanic lava and ash from the volcano through the glass. Then Mojo led me up a fleet of stairs which took about an hour to climb. Then we finally got to his home portion of the tower. There was a dining table, a chair, a newspaper, and giant lasers.

"So, how was your day?" Mojo asked.

"The girls took me to lunch," I explained.

"Oh, golly gee, isn't that nice?" Mojo said rolling his eyes.

"I ditched them," I said, feeling kinda angry at myself.

"Don't worry," Mojo told me. "I'm sure they'll understand. They can't expect for you to spend every single waking moment with them without getting sick and tired of it, right?"

"Right," I sighed.

"But what brings you here to the hideout (in other words, lair) of the great Mojo Jo Jo?"

"I needed help," I said, a little embarrassed.

I mean, come on, asking a monkey for help.

"With what?" he asked, narrowing his pink eyes in interest.

"I want something that you've probably wanted for a long time," I said. "But after a lot of work, you actually almost have it. I kinda want it too."

"What's that?" he wanted to know.

"I want respect," I said meekly.

"Respect?" he repeated. "So the people you know are not treating you with all the kindness and compassion that you believe you deserve?"

"No, no, that's not it," I said shaking my head. _"Most_ of the good people I know treat me with lots of respect. But I want the _villains_ to respect me too."

"One, in particular?" Mojo asked, raising an eyebrow. "One very mean, green one?"

"Uh, I don't know what you're talking about," I said uneasily.

"Oh, doesn't matter," Mojo said in a sing song voice. "Doesn't matter at all. You were saying?"

"I'm saying I don't want all the villains to think they can just do anything they want to me, and I want them to be kinda scared," I said.

"Ah ha!" Mojo said. "So in other words, you're saying that you don't want all those evil criminals to take advantage of you just because you're a _weak little girl_. You don't want them to think hurting you is as easy as hurting a fly. You want them to fear you and gravel at your feet."

"Well, kinda," I said.

I didn't necessarily want them to gravel at my feet.

"You have come to the right place, Megan Carlson-Brody," Mojo declared. "Mojo Jo Jo can make you the perfect super-super hero."

"Super-super hero?" I repeated. "What?"

"Obviously you crave power," he said.

"Well… yeah," I guess.

"And what better way to get power than to get Chemical X?" Mojo asked.

"Chemical X," I repeated. "Isn't that what the Professor used to give the girls power?"

"It's what he _accidentally_ used," Mojo corrected.

"How am I supposed to get that?" I wanted to know.

"Simple," he said. "All I have to do is put you up on that wall, put some Chemical X into my laser, and then shine my laser on you however long it takes."

"Does it hurt?" I asked curiously.

"Only a _little,"_ he said after some thought.

"Well, what would Chemical X actually do for me?" I wanted to know.

"You can have all the powers that the Power Puff Girls have," he explained. "You'd be able to fly, use X-ray vision, have super strength, super scream, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera."

"Uh, okay," I said. "Let's do it then."

"Yes, that _would _be a good way to pass the time," Mojo said, looking around the room thoughtfully. "That _would _be a very good thing to do now, except for one teeny, tiny problem."

"What's the problem?" I asked.

"I don't have any Chemical X," he said.

"What?" I groaned. "That means I'm never gonna have super powers."

"Hold your horses," Mojo said. "Just because _I _don't have any Chemical X doesn't mean the _Professor_ doesn't have any Chemical X."

I gulped. "You mean, you want me to _steal_ it?"

"I wouldn't say _stealing,"_ Mojo said. "I'd say I want you to just borrow it without permission."

"But that would be betraying everyone," I pointed out. "I'd be betraying the Power Puff Girls, the Professor, and my father-"

"I think your father's betrayed _you _enough; he'd be deserving this," Mojo said. "Didn't he forget all about you and run away with some lady?"

"No, he… well." I sighed.

Mo Jo was right. He smiled. "The Power Puff Girls will never find out," he assured me. "It'll be our little secret."

"When do you want me to get it?" I asked.

"The next time you're at their house," he replied. "Bring a backpack with you. A bottle of Chemical X will surely fit in a backpack. While they're watching TV just tell them you're going to another room to see something. Then tell them you have to go home twenty minutes later and come here!"

"Sounds easy enough," I said with a shrug. "Are you sure I should do this?"

_"Positive,"_ he said.

I shouldn't have trusted a villain so cunning and shrewd, but I was in desperate need of redemption at the moment, so I was willing to do anything.

"It's a deal," I told Mojo.

"Good," he said. "Trust me, you won't regret it."

"I hope not," I muttered. I turned around before I left and said, "I think I'm gonna get the Chemical X today. I'm going to their house."

"Good girl," Mojo said sinisterly. "Good girl."

I went down the stairs and the elevator until I got to the front door of the tower. I left the tower and headed first to my house to get a backpack and to the Power Puff Girl's house.

"Megan, where have you been, young lady?" Blossom demanded to know when I entered their living room.

"We were so worried about you!" Buttercup said angrily. "You said you were just gonna get a breath of fresh air, so we waited for you. We waited, and waited, and waited, and waited-"

"And you never came back!" Bubbles shouted.

"Yeah!" Buttercup shouted in agreement.

"So we went to the dump and asked Ace if _he _knew where you were!" Blossom explained.

"Wait a second," I said. "What did he say?"

"He asked how he should know," Blossom said. "He said he thought that you stuck with us all the time."

"How could you do this to us?" Bubbles sniffed.

"You worried us sick!" Blossom said.

"Okay, okay, okay, you guys," I said. "Enough. I'm sorry. I'm fine. All I did was go to yoga class so I could release some stress."

They looked at me like I was a ghost.

"Megan? Yoga class?" Buttercup said in shock.

"It was a joke," I said.

"Ohhhh," the girls said nodding.

"Yeah, I just went back home," I said.

"Oh really? Is that where you went?" Blossom asked, crossing her arms. "Well, we stopped by your house too, and you were nowhere to be found."

"You obviously didn't look everywhere," I said.

I sat down on the couch. The girls knew I wasn't going to discuss this any further. I turned the TV on. "You guys should watch TV," I told them.

"We've just searched all over town for you. We're mad, we're hungry, we're tired, and now you're telling us to watch TV?" Blossom asked.

"I know you guys are gonna forgive me," I laughed.

They just glared at me.

I stopped laughing. "Okay, maybe not, but I know some day we're all gonna laugh about this."

"YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY?!" Buttercup shouted.

"I don't think it's funny," Bubbles sniffed.

"None of us find it very funny at all," Blossom said frowning.

"Fine, then you guys can just sit on the couch with me or whatever," I said. "Just watch TV. We'll relax."

They finally forgave me. They shrugged and sat down next to me. We watched that puppet show again; the one with the baseball bat and jokes. Then twenty minutes later was the time.

"I'm gonna run to the rest room," I told them.

They nodded but didn't look at me. They were too drawn in to their favorite show. I stood up and walked into the hallway. I passed a bunch of rooms. None of them were the lab. I saw the rest room. I felt bad about not actually having to use it.

Then finally I found the lab because the word _Lab_ was written on the door in big, bold letters.

I slowly turned the door handle, hoping the girls wouldn't realize I was entering the wrong room. They didn't say or do anything. I sighed of relief and tip toed into the lab. I'd never been in there before.

It looked like every lab you'd seen in movies. There were white walls and white machines, causing the room to feel very clear and open.

There were tons of potions, liquids, and chemicals boiling inside pots and bottles. I searched every shelf and every table for Chemical X.

"Where are you, X?" I whispered.

I thought I heard something run by. I gasped and turned around. I knocked one of the bottles over with my hand. But I quickly caught it before it hit the ground! I read the label. Chemical X!

"Thank God," I breathed gratefully. "I wouldn't have wanted to drop that."

I stuffed the bottle into my backpack. Then I walked out of the lab and got back into the living room. "Ah, feel much better," I said.

"Yeah, I was about to say, what took you so long?" Buttercup asked, in between bites of popcorn.

"I just wasn't feeling too well," I sighed.

"I'm sorry," Bubbles apologized.

No, I'm sorry.

"That's okay," I said with a smile.

After another five minutes I decided I was getting out of the house. "Bye, guys," I said starting toward the door. "I should go home. My stomach hurts."

"Wait a second!" Blossom shouted.

The three of them got to the door before I could.

_"This_ is your home for now!" Blossom snapped. "Half of Townsville (the criminal half) is out to get you, and you're all alone in that house. You have to live with us until your father gets home from his honey moon. You're not living in your home. Most of the villains know where that is, and at least when you're here you're protected."

"Fine, I won't go home, but I _really_ have to go somewhere," I insisted. "Please, please, _please."_

"We'll come with you," Bubbles offered.

"No!" I snapped.

They gave me a look. "Uh, Megan, are you hiding something?" Blossom asked curiously.

"No, I'm not," I promised.

"I'm not so sure," Buttercup said. "Something really stinks around here."

"I'm not hiding anything," I repeated.

"Then why are you so eager to get away from us?" Bubbles wanted to know.

I stomped my foot.

"That's it!" I shouted. "You guys aren't my baby sitters! You think you are but you're not. _I'm_ supposed to be the one baby sitting _you_. You've got it all backwards! Why do you always think you can tell me what to do?"

I didn't even realize Bubbles' eyes were filling up with tears. Blossom looked disappointed. Buttercup looked angry.

"Megan," Blossom said with a deep breath. "We only wanted to protect you."

"Yeah! Ungrateful!" Buttercup snapped.

_"You _protect _me?"_ I scoffed. "Yeah, you were _always_ good at doing that. Like the time Grubber got you at the museum. Or when Fuzzy knocked you out with his shotgun."

"Watch it, pal," Buttercup growled.

"And the time _I_ had to rescue Bubbles from the Gangreen Gang at the dump!" I continued. "You guys think you're so strong, but you're really just tiny six year olds that can fly."

Bubbles started crying. Blossom pat her sister on the back lovingly. "Now look what you've done!" Buttercup screamed. "After all we've done for you!"

I felt so guilty. "Guys, I'm… I'm…"

"Go!" Blossom demanded.

"What?" I asked meekly.

_"Go!"_ Blossom repeated, getting out of my way so I could leave. "You can go. You can handle all those crazy villains, yourself. You obviously are waaaay tougher than we are. Now go!"

"You don't actually mean that," I whimpered.

"Oh, we mean it alright," Blossom scoffed. "Now get out of our house! And you're fired!"

She slammed the door behind me.

I'd never felt so angry at myself in my life. I had just lost my best friends- my _only_ friends. And for what? For super powers that I may or may not have gotten from an evil monkey?

My eyes filled up with tears. I leaned against their front door for a moment before I actually started back toward Mojo's hideout.

Mojo looked extremely excited when I got up to his lair.

"You got it!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down. "You got it! The Chemical X! I am so proud of you! You actually got the Chemical X!"

I didn't say anything. I just carried the bottle over to a small coffee table. I wasn't in the mood to say anything. Mojo ran up to the coffee table.

"Can I have my powers now?" I finally asked.

"Uh…uh…" Mojo paused, staring frantically around the room. He grabbed the bottle quickly and held it tightly. "Not yet. I still have to create the machine that collaborates with the chemical to give you the powers. And that takes some time."

I blinked back some tears. "You should have it ready for me."

"I really do apologize, Megan," he said.

"But… but… I lost my friends just to get it," I said softly.

"Awww," Mojo said, patting me on the back. "I'm so sorry. Maybe the Power Puff Girls weren't such great friends after all. But you have me."

I didn't want to have him.

"When do you think the machine will be ready?" I asked curiously.

"Soon," he replied. "Very, very soon."

"Okay," I sighed.

"I promise you I will have it ready as soon as possible," he said. "And I will let you know when I have it ready."

"Will it be within the week?" I asked curiously. "Like, before my dad gets home?"

I doubted Richard would ever come home.

"I'm not sure about that," Mojo confessed. "It's very difficult creating a machine. Haven't your teachers ever mentioned that to you?"

I shook my head. "No, not really."

"Well, it is rather difficult," Mojo said. He gently pushed me toward the door. "You should really get going now. Run along home. And watch out for criminals. You're a bit of a major target right now."

"Thanks for reminding me," I muttered.

"Oh, I just remembered!" he said, running toward a cupboard. He ran up to me and handed me a whistle. "It's brand new," he said. "Always carry it with you. Whenever you're in danger, just give it a blow. I'm always here to help."

"Thanks," I said nodding.

"Anytime," he said with a sly grin. "Anytime."

Friday had come and Mojo still hadn't let me know about the Chemical X project. I guess I shouldn't have expected for him to finish it yet. He said it would take a little time.

I got so excited at the sound of the phone ring, but of course the call was about something else.

_"Uh, hey, Richard, I guess you're not back from Hawaii yet,"_ the voice over the phone said. _"This is Dave from the Anger Management workshop. I just called to let you know you're needed back here the first Friday you're back in Townsville. The workshop's been filled with patients for weeks and weeks, and we don't know what to do with them. We need your help. Call back. Bye." _

Then I remembered today was Friday. I could go to the workshop tonight to help my dad out! But the patients were probably all villains, and I couldn't afford to sit in front of any of the villains now.

Maybe I could disguise myself. I quickly ran over to Richard's closet. There were mostly men's clothes- actually, there were _only _men's clothes.

So I went over to the Smith's house.

"Wow, you never come over to visit us!" Julie said jumping up and down. "It's so cool! Now we can actually become friends!"

"Julie, where's your dad?" I asked.

"At work."

"Where's your mom?"

"At the mall; shopping."

"Do you mind if I borrow some of her clothes?"

"No, sure."

"Where's her closet?"

"Over there."

"Thank you."

I walked over to Maryanne's closet and looked inside. The wardrobe was perfect for what I needed tonight. I decided I would go with high heels, a leather shirt with long sleeves, and a flannel skirt.

I took the outfit home with me and put it on thirty minutes before I would go to the bus stop to get to the workshop. I still looked like myself in it, so I needed to add extra things to make me look more like an adult and less like Megan Brody.

I put on some make up that Ima had left at the house before she went to Hawaii. I put on tons of lipstick, blush, mascara, and eyelashes. Then I put on a pair of sunglasses so no one would recognize my eyes. Then I put on long dangly earrings and my hair in a bun. I never wore buns. Then I took my purse with me, which had the credit card in it that my mother had given me for Townsville.

I went to the bus stop and got on the bus for the workshop.

It felt creepy sitting on the dirty, noisy, crowded bus when it was so dark out. And I wasn't so sure about going to the workshop especially since my dad wasn't gonna be right there with me.

You got your wish, Megan. You wanted to work. Well, now you're working.

I arrived at the building. I opened the door and walked through the lobby. A lot of the adults standing there gave me a look. I cleared my throat.

"I'm the fill-in for Mr. Brody," I explained.

They nodded and I continued toward the elevator. Then I got off on the floor that had Richard's office on it. I peeked inside. I groaned.

I knew it. They were all there.

Him, Fuzzy, Princess, The Rowdy Ruff Boys, The Amoeba Boys, and a bunch of other random villains I recognized. They were all arguing with each other and making trouble. The only ones I couldn't find were the Gangreen Gang.

I quickly snuck into the room and sat down in Richard's chair. I wished I didn't come. The only main reason I considered coming in the first place was in hope to reason with the Gangreen Gang, but they weren't here, were they?

They suddenly all dropped what they were doing and looked at me confusedly.

"Who are you?" Him asked.

"I'm Anna Carlson," I replied.

Not really. Anna Carlson was my mother.

"I thought Richard Brody was supposed to be here tonight," Bossman said confusedly.

"He's still on his honeymoon," I said.

"Dang! That's one long honeymoon!" Fuzzy pointed out.

"Yeah, I agree," I muttered.

"Who cares?" Princess asked. "We need to talk about us! Not Richard!"

She was always the sweetest girl.

"Fine," I said, sorting out some random papers that were on the desk. "Let's talk about you. Why are you here?"

"We're all here for the same reason," Princess said. "Megan."

"Why are you here about Megan?" I asked, my voice suddenly less professional.

"She's the pain in all our necks!" Fuzzy said.

"The thorn in all our sides," Him said.

"I don't think she did anything wrong," I said.

They all blinked once or twice confusedly.

I shrugged. "Never mind," I said. "I'll talk to you. Tell me why Megan bothers you so much."

"Here's why she bothers _me,"_ Princess began. She took a deep breath. "She was my baby sitter. I asked her to make me a Power Puff Girl. She told me nobody could be a Power Puff Girl except for Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup."

"Yeah, _and?"_ I wanted to know.

"And then what does she do?" Princess continued. "She goes off and becomes a Power Puff Girl! What is up with that?"

"Maybe Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup thought she fit the qualifications better," I suggested. It hurt to think their names, let alone say them aloud.

"WHAT QUALIFICATIONS?!" Princess bellowed. "I WANTED TO BE A POWER PUFF GIRL! I DON'T CARE WHETHER THEY LIKE ME OR NOT! I WILL BECOME A POWER PUFF GIRL! You know why? BECAUSE I HAVE THE MONEY TO BUY MY WAY INTO BEING ONE!"

"Fine, fine, fine," I said. My ears hurt. "But do you really think money is the way?"

"I KNOW SO!" Princess declared.

"That's my kinda girl," Him cackled.

"And why are _you_ here?" I wanted to know.

_"I'm_ angry at Megan for _many _reasons," Him said, crossing his legs. "She always wins. She never loses. Me, being the evilest of evil, wants to see her cower. Wants to see her fail! But she keeps getting away and escaping my clutches!"

"Maybe she's stronger than you think," I said.

I wish I never said that.

Him chuckled wickedly. "Interesting point," he said. "I'll have to test that theory next time I see her."

I smiled sarcastically.

I turned to Fuzzy and said, "What about you?"

"She humiliated me and made a fool out of me in front of Townsville!" he explained.

"I'm sure she had a reasonable reason for that," I assured him. "Like, maybe, to rescue innocent people because you were attacking them."

He turned a bright red and screamed, "I DON'T CARE WHAT HER REASONS WERE! SHE MADE A NO GOOD FOOL OUT OF ME!"

Gee, didn't anyone ever express their anger in a normal, calm, peaceful way anymore?

"Hey, what about us?" Bossman asked. He and the other Amoeba Boys were sitting in the very middle of the room. "Aren't ya gonna ask _us_ about why we hate that little brat Megan?"

I forced a smile. "Why do you hate that little brat Megan?"

"She said we was pathetic," he explained.

"And do you agree with her?" I asked.

"Well, er, uh, I don't know."

"Maybe you're too afraid to face the truth," I pointed out. "Maybe you really _are _pathetic, but you just don't want to realize that she's right."

No more Miss Nice Girl.

"Wow, yeah, maybe you're right," Bossman said.

"Yeah!" Junior agreed.

"And what about you?" I asked the Rowdy Ruff Boys. "Why do _you_ hate Megan?"

"Cause she's a girl!" Brick replied.

"I actually think she's really pretty," Boomer said, blushing.

Brick slapped him across the face.

"I hate girls!" Butch said proudly.

"I'm not gonna get into that," I said. "I think you all are just paranoid. Megan isn't as mean as you think she is. You need to forget about her."

"Hey! You seem to really like Megan!" Fuzzy shouted.

"Yeah," Him said in agreement, glaring at me. "You wouldn't happen to _be _Megan in disguise, _would_ you, Miss Anna Carlson?"

"No!" I snapped. "I'm, uh, twenty five years old. I'm not Megan at all. I'm just trying to get it so ya'all aren't so full of hatred. You know what? You all have done good. Time for a lunch break."

"Lunch break?" the Amoeba Boys repeated.

"Yes, on the second floor," I said. "Cafeteria."

They all stampeded out the door. I sighed of relief. I would be out of here before they got back. But first I would make a few phone calls.

First I dialed the mayor's number.

_"Hello, you've reached the Mayor of Townsville,"_ he said in a happy tone of voice.

"Hey, Mayor, this is Megan," I said.

_"Oh, hi, Megan,"_ he said. _"Haven't heard from you in a while."_

"I was grounded," I explained.

_"Richard grounded you?" _he said in surprise.

"No, Ima did," I corrected.

_"Yeah, I didn't think that sounded like something Richard would do. By the way, I loved their wedding. I didn't see you there."_

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I wasn't there. Anyway, I'm leaving the Anger Management workshop in a few minutes. I was just wondering if you'd have a bunch of police men come and arrest the villains that are here tonight. They're all here and they're attacking the cafeteria."

_"You weren't there?!"_ the Mayor repeated in shock. _"You weren't there at your own father's wedding?" _

"Yeah, I know, but did you hear what I said about the workshop?" I asked.

_"Yes, uh, what are the villains doing exactly?"_ he asked.

"They're attacking the cafeteria."

_"How?"_

"Well… honestly… they're just eating, but-"

_"I can't send the police for them if they're just eating,"_ he laughed. _"They're probably just hungry."_

"You don't understand!" I said. "They've got something very bad planned in store. I know it!"

_"Bye, Megan. I gotta hang up now. Time for dinner. I'm still waiting for Miss Bellum to come in here so she can open my pickle jar. Talk to you later." _

"Wait!" I begged. He hung up. I groaned and dialed the Utonium's number. I got an answering machine. I said, "Hi, girls, this is Megan. I know you guys don't want to talk to me, and I don't blame you. I've been a lousy friend. But can you please forgive me? You're the most amazing people I know. Bye."

I hung up and sat back. I let out a big sigh.

"Knock, knock," Ace's voice said.

I gasped and looked up. He was standing in the doorway. He walked inside. "What are you doing here?" I asked, standing up. I waved the phone shakily in the air. "My name is Anna Carlson. I'll call security. I really will call security."

He grabbed my wrist and lowered it, making it so I put the phone back on the receiver.

"No, I don't think it would be so hard for Anna Carlson to breathe when I walk in the room," he said softly with an amused grin.

I let out the breath I had been holding in since he walked in through the door. I glared at him. "Why do you keep coming back?" I wanted to know.

"I made goals," Ace said with a shrug. "My goal is to destroy you. I won't quit until I've reached that goal. But sometimes, I think I already have."

I shivered as he slowly pulled the scrunchie out of my hair, making it so my disguise was ruined. Then he took my sunglasses off. "You're no master of disguise, Megan Brody," he chuckled.

I took a step back. "You keep confusing me!" I said. "First you say you want to see me, then you attack me. Then you stalk me the next time you see me and after that you act like you actually care about me, even though I know you don't. Then you attack me again, and now, well now, I don't know _what _you're trying to do."

He smiled and tucked his hand under my hair. "I guess I'm just trying to make you crumble," he said in a soft voice. Then he began stroking my neck.

I reached down under my shirt for the whistle Mojo had given me. I lowered my head and opened my mouth to blow on it. I gave a pathetic blow that he wouldn't be able to hear. He must not have heard it because nothing happened.

Then Ace put his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to him. "Are you gonna give up?" he whispered in my ear.

I stomped down on his foot as hard as I could. He didn't scream or anything but he backed off. I glared at him. "You get out of here!" I demanded, my voice trembling instead of sounding brave or threatening. "I have this whistle. I'll…I'll blow it!"

"You're not gonna blow it," he chuckled.

"What makes you think I won't?" I wanted to know.

"You don't really want me to leave," he pointed out.

He lowered his sunglasses and stared into my eyes. I just stood there staring back at him for a few minutes. I tried my hardest to seem strong.

Then we heard the villains all talking to each other in the hallway. I gasped. They were coming back and I was no longer wearing my disguise. I hadn't even left the building yet.

"Don't worry," Ace told me. "We're gonna get out of here. Take my hand."

"I'm not gonna do anything you say," I growled.

The villains were getting closer.

Ace just grabbed my hand and opened the window. Then he jumped out the window, taking me along with him. I screamed until we hit the top of a tree. He frowned at me. "Shh!" he snapped.

He held onto me as we climbed down the tree.

Then we got down on solid ground. I could hear the villains screaming inside the building. They were probably screaming over how I mysteriously disappeared. It really hadn't been a smart move coming down to the workshop in the first place.

For a moment I thought Ace was gonna drag me back to the dump so he and his gang members could do whatever they wanted with me, but he didn't.

"I want you to go home," he told me.

"What happened to you?" I asked. "Why are you doing this? Why are you letting me go? This just isn't like you."

He took a step closer to me and breathed heavily. "Megan, you may think all that make up makes ya look older, but really it just makes you look…"

He paused. I had a feeling he wanted to say 'even more beautiful', but he was too tough for that. Instead he said, "like more of a target. Go."

I stood there, staring at him. I didn't move.

He got angry. "Go!" he shouted, pointing in the direction of the bus stop. "Go before something very, very bad happens to you. Just go!"

I then turned around and ran for the bus stop.

The bus stop dropped me off at my house.

I ran inside my house, panting. I locked all the doors and ran to my room. I sat on my bed and took off my adult clothes. I didn't know whether I was ever going to return them to the Smith's. I didn't think Julie would actually tell her mom anyway. It would probably just slip her mind, like everything else did.

I just lay there on top of my bed, in my bra and underwear, trying to figure Ace out. There were times when I thought he was all evil, and other times when I thought there might have been some good in him.

Now I was beginning to think it was neither.


	12. What's Done is Done

Mojo has lied to Megan. He promised to give her super powers but has instead used them for himself. Megan has to stop him before it's too late.

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

What's Done is Done

Chapter 12

The next morning I woke up to the sound of screams outside my window. I looked out my window and saw a bunch of people running into the neighborhood. They were coming from the city.

I quickly put a sweater over my bra and a pair of pants on. I didn't brush my hair. I didn't have time. I needed to see what was going on. I ran outside. I was stuck in a large crowd of people.

"Fear not, citizens of Townsville!" Blossom announced. She and her sisters were floating above everyone's head. "We are going to do what we can to put an end to whatever destruction is being a disturbance to our wonderful city! We will bring justice back to this town!"

The three of them flew toward the city in a flash.

"Yay!" the citizens cheered hopefully.

I needed to catch up with the girls, so I could see what was going on. I pushed past a bunch of people. I needed to get through the crowd.

"Pardon me," I said to them. "Please let me through." Some of them got annoyed, but others let me through without any trouble.

Then I finally got into the city where there was another big crowd. This crowd was also pushing their way toward the suburbs.

I looked up at the sky to see if I could see what was going on. All I saw was the Power Puff Girls freefalling off the top of a building. They slammed against the ground. The nearby citizens gasped.

There was evil laughter coming from on top of the building. Then the criminal came into view. I gasped. It was Mojo Jo Jo! He was his same monkey self, except he was _flying!_ And his eyes were very large, round, and purple. He then began shooting some of the running citizens with his laser eyes.

"I _need _to get through!" I snapped at the people who were still in my way. I shoved myself past them and finally got to the wounded Power Puff Girls. I knelt beside them. "Girls, are you okay?"

They could barely open their eyes.

"Megan?" Bubbles asked faintly.

I heard a building fall over. People were screaming. I heard it hit the ground. I said "Wait here" to the girls and ran toward the building. I needed to get Mojo's attention. But how? He was so up high in the air and I was so down low on the ground. I didn't even have a loud voice.

I ran as fast as I could through the crowd and climbed up the fallen building. It was on fire, but I didn't get off of it. I _needed_ to get Mojo's attention.

"Mojo Jo Jo!" I screamed, cuffing my hands around my mouth. "Mojo Jo Jo!"

He must have had super hearing, because he lowered in the sky and said, "Megan, how very nice it is to see you on this fine day." He was smirking.

"What's going on?" I wanted to know.

"I'm destroying Townsville," he replied. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

"No, but you haven't done that in a while," I pointed out. "Why are you suddenly doing it today?"

"I have decided I would make a comeback and destroy the city of Townsville again on this very day because now I finally have something that I didn't have before," he explained. "Thanks to _you."_

The citizens all stopped running and screaming. They stared at me. The Power Puff Girls flew up behind me. They stared at me too. I frowned.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I would have never been able to do it without you," he told me. He didn't look sympathetic at all.

"Do _what?"_ I asked angrily.

"Don't you see, Megan?" he said. "Look at me! I've got laser eyes! Super strength! Super punches! Super speed! And I can fly!"

"What does that have to do with _me?"_ I wanted to know. I was tired of guessing games.

"Oh, I think you know very well how this has to do with you, Megan," he said evilly. "After all, _you _were the one who stole the Chemical X."

Everyone gasped.

"Megan, _you_ stole the Chemical X?" Buttercup asked.

I nodded sadly.

"How could you?" Bubbles sighed.

"I…I…I didn't think I was doing anything wrong," I explained. "I told Mojo I wanted all the villains to be scared of me, and he told me the only way for that to happen was if I had Chemical X and got super powers. But then he kept it to himself and gave _himself_ super powers."

"Mojo's a criminal!" Blossom pointed out. "You're not supposed to take orders from criminals!"

"But he said he'd protect me from villains," I said.

"_He's_ a villain _too,"_ Blossom repeated. "I doubt he's gonna protect you from himself."

"I'm so sorry, girls," I said faintly.

I doubted they were going to forgive me.

Mojo cackled wickedly and shot at the girls with his laser eyes. They screamed and fell over backwards.

"No!" I shouted.

Before he could fly away I grabbed onto his cape so he wouldn't be able to get away. He gagged and then shot me with his laser eyes!

"_AAAAGGGGHHHH!!!!!"_ I screamed.

I'd never been harmed by a super power before. I felt woozy for a few minutes afterward.

He laughed again and continued flying.

"What am I gonna do?" I asked no one in particular. I gathered up all my strength and climbed buildings to catch up with the flying monkey.

"I'm sooo scared!" Mojo shouted sarcastically at me, his voice echoing off the building walls. He was still laughing. "I'm being chased by a weak, powerless little girl! Whatever shall I do?"

I glared at him. I continued chasing him.

Just then I did something that was insane. I started jumping off tops of buildings to get on other tops of buildings! I felt the rush of adrenaline, so I didn't even consider the consequences of this action. All I focused on was catching Mojo.

Then finally I caught up with him again.

I grabbed onto the end of his cape, but instead of pulling him down, that pulled me _up!_ I screamed as I dangled by his cape in the air. He continued laughing. He flew up even higher and higher.

"Is this too high for you?" he asked me.

"No!" I shouted. I held on tight, so I wouldn't fall. I couldn't afford to fall down from this high a height. I obviously wouldn't live to tell the tale.

"Is _this_ too high?!" he bellowed when we were a whole mile higher in the air.

"No!" I replied.

Then he flew even higher. I'd never been this high in my life. Not even on a plane.

Then suddenly a giant blimp appeared out of nowhere. Mojo grinned down at me. "There's my ride," he said.

The blimp door opened. Him and the Rowdy Ruff Boys were in the doorway. They were all wearing white scarves, pilot helmets, and goggles.

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized to Him and the Rowdy Ruff Boys. "But I couldn't leave her _hanging,_ if you know what I mean."

Him laughed wickedly and knelt down to get a better look at me. "Hey, how's the weather down there, Megan?" he asked cruelly.

I glared angrily up at him.

Mojo got inside through the doorway and took his cape off. "I'm sorry, but I will no longer be needing this," he told me.

I panicked. That cape had been the only thing keeping me up. My heart pounded loudly. I screamed as I fell through the air.

"Bye, Megan!" Him called in his high pitched voice. He waved his claw in the air. "See you next _fall!_ Well, actually, we probably _won't."_

Then the blimp door closed.

"Oh no!" I screamed as I continued falling. "This is very bad! This is really, really bad! _AAAAAAGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!"_

All I could see around me were clouds. A few minutes later I finally saw the burning buildings of Townsville again.

"Oh no," I moaned. I looked down and saw that the only thing below me was the cement streets of Townsville. "This is it." I closed my eyes.

I expected a loud boom or crash, or pain.

But I got none of the above.

I was rescued; floating in the air.

The Power Puff Girls had caught me!

They smiled at me as they gently got me back on solid ground. My eyes filled up with tears. I thrust myself on them and gave them the biggest hug I'd ever given anyone. I just sobbed and sobbed.

"I'm so sorry about everything I've done," I told them. "Please, _please_ forgive me. I really don't deserve amazing friends like you."

"Come on, yeah you do," Buttercup assured me.

"I can't believe I ever let you down," I said.

"You always deserved the best," Bubbles added.

I smiled. I loved them so much. They were the closest thing I'd ever had to a family in my life.

Then I looked around and looked at the damage to the city. It looked horrible.

"Look what I've done to the city!" I moaned.

"It's not your fault," Blossom told me.

"Yes it _is,"_ I argued. "This is _all_ my fault."

Suddenly the Professor Utonium, panting, ran up to us, waving a bunch of papers in the air. "Girls! Girls! I've figured it out!"

"Figured _what_ out, Professor?" Bubbles asked.

"How to get rid of Mojo's super powers," Professor replied. "It's like how you got rid of his powers that one other time he almost destroyed Townsville. All you have to do is get the Antidote X and spill it all over him!"

"Really?" Bubbles said.

"Do you have any Antidote in your lab, Professor?" Blossom asked.

"No," Professor sighed. "Unfortunately, the only bottle still available is inside Mojo's tower."

"Yeah, yeah," Buttercup said. "It wouldn't really matter if someone snuck in and got the bottle anyway because he's not even in his tower anymore. And even if he _were,_ someone would be _crazy_ to mess with him while he's in super power mode."

We heard the echoing laughter of both Mojo and Him. The blimp flew up to Mojo's tower and he got out of it. "Thanks for the ride, Your Evil Highness," he told Him, taking a bow.

"Oh, it was my pleasure," Him replied.

Then the door shut, the blimp flew away, and Mojo yawned, scratched his butt, and entered his volcano tower. I couldn't keep my eyes off of the volcano tower. I frowned and breathed heavily.

"Uh, Megan, are you okay?" Blossom asked.

"Yeah, great," I said, starting toward it. "Just great."

"Megan! Are you crazy?!" Bubbles called.

"Come back here!" Buttercup demanded.

"You can't defeat Mojo, yourself!" Blossom pointed out.

Nothing was gonna stop me. I kicked the door down and went up the elevator. I needed to be quiet as I passed through the tower.

I wanted to sneak up on Mojo. I was gonna find the Antidote, then find him, and spill it all over him so his powers would vanish.

Since I needed to be very careful I gasped every time I heard a sound or saw something move out of the corner of my eye. It was very dark inside the tower and the air smelled of smoke.

I ran to the lab area of the tower. There were tons of chemicals everywhere. I groaned. I wouldn't be able to find the Antidote in a sea of _this_ many. I began looking at all of their labels one by one, making sure I didn't accidentally skip over it.

The twenty sixth one I looked at was Antidote X, luckily for me. If it wasn't, I would have had to look _forever._ "Yes, here it is," I whispered triumphantly.

I picked it up and started toward the door. I needed to look for Mojo. Suddenly Mojo's voice echoed off the stone walls.

"Not a very good idea," he chuckled evilly.

I gasped and started running as fast as I possibly could. He obviously knew I was in there and what I was trying to do. I couldn't hear his footsteps behind me but I knew he was following me. I kept running.

At the very last moment I chickened out. I was gonna head back for the entrance door so I could just get out of the tower. I'd never been a hero, so why did I think I could pretend I was something I wasn't? I was just a coward.

I almost reached the entrance door. I reached out my hand to grab the doorknob. I did. It was locked! "Oh no!" I moaned, my eyes filling up with tears.

"Awww, poor baby," Mojo said mockingly. "No way out."

He came out of nowhere in front of me.

I thought maybe at least now I could throw the Antidote all over him. My hands trembled when I threw it his way. I missed! It fell all over the floor! My heart sank. It was hopeless.

He laughed evilly. "Epic fail," he said.

He started slowly walking toward me. I took some steps back. "I just knew you wouldn't have the courage to defeat me," he said. "You've never had the courage to stand up to anyone. I've never seen anybody so pitiful in my entire life."

There was only one thing left to do.

I knew it would wind up being pathetic, but it was the only thing I _could_ do. I clenched my fists and punched him in the shoulder. As I expected, it didn't do much damage. How was I so pathetic that I couldn't stand up to a monkey?

He smiled. "Awww, that was so cute!" he cooed.

Then he stopped smiling and glared at me. He punched me as hard as he could in the face! I screamed and fell over backwards. I slid across the floor and crashed into a shelf full of more chemicals. The bottles all fell on the ground around me.

He came toward me again. He kicked the broken bottles out of his way. I moaned and held onto my forehead. I was too weak to get up.

"How dare you try to outsmart _me!"_ he bellowed. "Mojo Jo Jo! After all I've done for you! I protected you from danger! I showed you kindness when nobody else would! And you suddenly decide to turn your back on me!"

I didn't respond. I couldn't find any words.

Then he towered over me… even though he was a monkey. He grabbed my neck and started squeezing it. I gasped for air. He continued squeezing.

"When are you finally going to understand?" he asked with a grin. "Little girls never win!"

Then I got angry. I wasn't going to let him win.

I gathered up all my strength (even strength I didn't think I had), and punched him as hard as I possibly could in the face! He let go of me and went sliding across the floor.

"No! No! No!" he screamed pitifully.

He slid into the puddle of Antidote X all over the other side of the room. "Curses," he mumbled angrily as he soaked in it. His large, round purple eyes slowly evolved back into his old slanted pink eyes. "Curses… curses… curses… curses… curses."

I let out a yelp and stood back up on my feet and walked over toward the door. I carefully walked around the puddle of Antidote X.

Tons of citizens ran up to the door. A police man arrested Mojo and brought him to his car so he could take him to jail. The citizens were all cheering and jumping up and down happily.

A reporter said, "It looks like Megan Brody has done it again. She's always saving Townsville. How does she do it? Megan, a few words?"

It was too late. I had started home.

I knew everyone wanted to see me so they could ask me about how I did it and all, but I needed my rest. It had been a long day. It had been a long _summer_. I was extremely exhausted.

I wasn't planning on seeing anyone for a while.

I was just gonna sit in my house for the next few days, not taking any favors from anybody. I was done. Today took more out of me than any other day I had had in my life.

Then I wondered if Ace heard about me saving the day. Would he be upset? Would he be _proud?_ I knew I shouldn't have cared, but I really couldn't help but wonder. I tried and tried not to care, but I just couldn't stop caring. What was wrong with me?

All I needed right now was my dad.

I missed my dad.

I hadn't seen him in forever.

"Daddy," I whispered faintly.

I started to wonder if he'd ever come back. Was Ima holding him prisoner?

I hated her so much. I'd never hated anyone the way I hated her.


	13. Not Such a Goodlady

Megan finds out the truth about Ima. She never loved Richard. She just married him because he owned a magical necklace that could give her all the power in the world. Also, Megan discovers once and for all that there _is_ some good in Ace.

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

Not such a Goodlady

Chapter 13

I still hadn't seen anyone since that big day.

Two days later night came. I thought I was gonna be alone to relax that night but I was wrong. At about ten o'clock I heard someone enter the house. I heard creeping in the living room.

At first I was scared so I stayed in bed. When it got much worse and much louder I decided to just go downstairs to see what was going on.

Of course I was only wearing my t shirt and pajama shorts, but I didn't have any time to change into anything else. I crept quietly to the stairs. I stood at the top of them. I looked down at the living room. I gasped. What I saw next shocked me, _kinda_.

Ima Goodlady- or Ima _Brody_- was sorting through drawers and putting jewelry into a sack she was carrying. She seemed stressed out or something.

"Where is it?" she growled.

Then she seemed to find something because she got really happy and excited. "This'll complete it all!" she said. She held a necklace up in the air.

I gasped. It was the necklace my mother had worn on her wedding with my father. She had returned it to him after the divorce. What did Ima want with that necklace?

By the way, what the hell was Ima wearing?

She was wearing a red leotard and black tights. Who the heck wore something like that while they were out stealing jewelry? Maybe she was going back to Hawaii to do it with Richard. She then ran toward the door and opened it. She disappeared.

I knew she was up to no good. I had to run after her to see where she was going and why she was going there. So I ran downstairs, ran outside, and followed her trail. I was about a mile behind her, but I could still see her so I could follow her.

She was going into the city. I tore after her. This was so unsafe for me to be running out alone in the city at this time of night. Any villain could have been nearby, and they were all after me.

Then I figured out she was trying to get to the dump. It made sense. At the wedding rehearsal dinner she had been talking in private to Ace, even though she had made it a big deal before that going near Ace or any of the Gangreen Gang members was terrible.

But Ima was sneaky like that.

Lucky for me, the dump gate wasn't closed yet. It was slowly closing from when Ima went inside. I quickly ran past it and was inside the dump now. I heard a cat meow somewhere nearby. I breathed heavily. I was nervous here in the dump. Especially since I was in my night clothes.

I heard Ima's voice. She was speaking to someone. It was obviously the Gangreen Gang.

I leaned against a tall box that was closer to the sound and listened carefully.

"I am triumphant!" Ima said proudly. "I have found the answer to all our problems. This necklace is worth all the riches in the world, boys!"

Snake, Arturo, Billy, and Grubber cheered.

I needed to get a better look. I peeked around the box and almost screamed. I didn't though, luckily. The reason was that Ima didn't have her hair, or her _fake _hair, for that matter. She didn't have short white blond hair. Instead she had long brown hair- not exactly _hair_- there were _snakes_ growing out of her hair! She was like Medusa.

"What do you want us to do with the riches, miss?" Arturo asked curiously.

"I'll tell you, my boys," she replied. "But only after you do one last thing for me. I need you to go to Megan's house and kidnap her. Bring her here. I've told you where she lives. She needs to be here, because she knows about the robbery, and will tell the authorities if we don't threaten her not to."

"Whatever you sssssay, Sssssedusa," Snake said.

"Sedusa?" I repeated to myself.

The gang members didn't even start off to leave the dump. I thought they were supposed to go to my house. I just stood there, waiting.

"Wait a second," I said. "What's taking them so long?"

Then suddenly Grubber jumped out from out of nowhere and started spitting everywhere. I screamed and fell over backwards. Snake came up from behind me and made me stand up on my feet. He held onto my shoulders so I wouldn't be able to get away.

Then Snake dragged me over to where the other Gangreen members and Sedusa were.

"Good evening, Megan," Sedusa said with a smirk on her face. "I just knew we might see you here tonight. You're just too smart for me. I need to ask one favor of you though. You cannot tell anyone about the robbery. You've got to promise."

"I'm not gonna take orders from _you,"_ I declared. "You may be my father's wife, but you're never going to be my mother."

"Then we only have one choice," Sedusa said. "Billy, the tape."

"Fun, fun, fun sticky tape!" Billy exclaimed. He had stuck the whole roll of tape all over his body.

"Ugh, you're hopeless!" Sedusa groaned.

"What are we gonna do now?" Arturo asked in a stressed out tone of voice.

Snake glanced over at something.

"We can put her on the conveyor belt," he suggested. "It'ssss not a pleasant trip."

"Hey, hey, hey," Ace said. "That isn't evil enough, Snake. You've gotta do something very, very horrible to be considered _evil."_

I glared angrily at him. He just smiled back.

Then he reached over for something in a box. It was an old pair of pliers. He lifted them up in the air and threw it toward us. "Hey, Snake, catch!"

The pliers hit Snake right in the nose!

"Ow!!!" he screamed in pain.

He let go of me. I gave Ace a confused look. He winked. Then I ran in the opposite direction and

"After her!" Sedusa told the Gangreen Gang.

Snake, Arturo, Billy, and Grubber ran after me.

I turned around and saw Sedusa marching up to Ace and yelling at him. "WHY DID YOU DO THAT?" she bellowed.

"I thought Snake was being a little too _nosy,"_ he replied with a nervous chuckle.

I continued running toward the gate.

I knew I shouldn't have been doing that. I really needed to get that necklace back from Sedusa. But Ace wanted me to get out of there, so I was just gonna get out of there.

"You can run home, but we'll follow!" Snake called after me. "We know where you live!"

Arturo, Billy, and Grubber cackled.

"Great, that's just great," I muttered sarcastically.

I couldn't run home. But where else did I have to go? I could have gone to the Utonium's home. I was still considering it.

All this thinking made me slow down. I slowed down to a halt. They sped up. "Are you ready to give up yet?" Arturo cackled.

I gasped and started running again. I couldn't spend too much time pondering over where I should go. I didn't have enough time. They were getting closer. I needed to run faster.

Then I approached the city again. I ran into a church. That was the safest place to go. No one could get me in the church. Not much later I heard their footsteps enter the church.

They were laughing and whispering amongst themselves. I was hiding under a bench in the last row. Billy started picking up benches to see if anyone was under them. Arturo just glanced under other benches since he wasn't much taller than them. Grubber didn't do anything. Snake got down on his hands and knees and searched. They searched for a while and then gave up.

"Didn't find anything," Billy sighed.

"Yeah, me neither," Arturo agreed.

"Oh well," Snake said. "She esssscaped. Let's go back to the dump."

I heard their footsteps leave the church.

Then I came up from under the bench and waited a few minutes before heading back home. I left for home at ten fifty. I walked slowly, since I was tired. I finally arrived in my neighborhood.

I felt so alone. The neighborhood had always seemed like a cheerful place, but for some reason tonight it seemed menacing and dangerous. I got to my front door and entered the house. I slowly walked upstairs to my bedroom.

Something didn't seem right about my room. It just seemed like somebody was in there. I stared around the room, looking for any signs of movement. I got under my covers and closed my eyes. Then suddenly a giant sack went over my head!

"What's going on?" I demanded to know.

"We gotsssss her," Snake's voice said. "Now let's take her back to the dump."

I figured that they had gone to my house to attack me. I realized they were taking me back to the dump so they could finish the job. It took another twenty minutes before they actually got there.

Then they removed the sack.

Snake cracked his knuckles. "Ssssso long, sucker!"

He punched me in the face.

I started off and ran away. Arturo ran right under me on purpose to trip me. I went flying! I slammed face first into Billy's big stomach. Then I immediately turned around and started running.

I was gonna run and run as fast as I could. I could hear them yelling and running behind me, but that wasn't gonna stop me. I wasn't gonna chicken out this time. I was gonna keep going.

Then I got startled when Ace came out of nowhere and started beating them up. He punched Snake in the nose, Billy in the stomach, Grubber in the face, and kicked Arturo in the air. I turned around to continue running but he grabbed my arm.

"What are you doing?" I asked annoyed.

"You gotta listen to me," he said.

"No, I have to go get the Power Puff Girls!" I argued. "They need to help me! I need to tell them about Sedusa and you guys-"

"Megan, you have to listen to me," he insisted. "You _don't_ need the Power Puff Girls. You got the strength inside yourself. Now if you care about me at all, you'll go to the Mayor's office."

"What?" I said confusedly. "Mayor's office?"

"Yes," he said nodding. "The Mayor's office."

"Why do you want me to go _there?" _I wanted to know.

"Because," he replied. "That's why."

He tucked his hand under my hair.

The other members were up again, and they charged toward us. Ace spanked me on my butt. I glared at him.

"You have to go! Right _now!"_ he demanded.

When Big Billy shoved Ace to the ground I ran away. I headed to the Mayor's office even though I didn't know why I was going there. I really didn't know why I was going there since Ace said I should only go there if I cared about him. Did I?

It was dark and stormy but I was determined to get to the Mayor's office. I finally got there. I opened the door. It swung open. It wasn't locked. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong, indeed.

The Mayor and Miss Bellum were down on the ground by the Mayor's desk. They were tied up! I couldn't tell what they were saying since there was tape over their mouths, but I could tell they were happy to see me. I walked over to them.

"What happened?" I asked.

They explained in murmurs. I untied their hands so they could take the tape off their mouths. They did. The Mayor was hysterical.

"Sedusa came in here!" he explained. "She tied us up because she didn't want me to call the Power Puff Girls! She's up to something very bad!"

"Is she still here now?" I asked.

"Uh, I don't know," the Mayor said.

Miss Bellum groaned and slapped herself in the face, wherever her face was.

"Miss Bellum, do you know where Sedusa is?" I asked.

"She went to the museum," she replied.

"Thank you," I said. I hurried out the door.

I ran to the museum. The doors were unlocked once again. I wondered why Sedusa had come to the museum. I knew she was interested in money and all, and there were a thousand things worth a lot of money at the museum so it should have been obvious why, but for some reason it wasn't. I just didn't believe Sedusa would be at the museum for money.

I passed some of the exhibits and studied them carefully. I wasn't gonna accidentally miss Sedusa. I'd be letting Townsville down if this crook didn't get busted for her fiendish actions.

I was beginning to think she heard about the necklace and only dated my father because of it. I always thought she was using him, but I never knew _why_ she would use him. Now I had an idea.

Then I heard her maniacal laughter. For a moment I got nervous because I thought she knew I was there. But then I heard her exclaim, "Yes! If I attach this diamond to the necklace I will have all the power in the world! Mua ha ha ha ha!"

I peeked from behind the corner of the room and saw her put the diamond onto the necklace. The diamond sparkled and then turned into a bunch of fire! Sedusa laughed as the transformation took place.

Since I didn't want to see her do anything to Townsville I grabbed a pebble that was on the ground and threw it in her direction to get her attention.

"Huh?" she said confusedly.

I sat there a moment waiting to see what would happen next.

I could hear her stepping off of the podium she was standing on. She slowly walked over to where I was, to see where the pebble had come from. I sat there. I was going to surprise attack her.

"Achoo!" I sneezed. Uh oh.

Sedusa gasped and slowly came toward the corner I was hiding behind. I just needed the right timing. I kicked her in the face!

"_AAAGGGHHHH!"_ she screamed flying backward. She slid across the room and banged her head into the wall. The necklace and the diamond slid out of the room. I ran toward the hall to fetch them.

"_URGGGHHH!!!!!"_ she shouted.

Something grabbed me by the ankle and tripped me! I screamed and fell face first on the hard floor. Sedusa laughed evilly. It had been her snake hair that had tripped me. She got up and ran toward the hall. I put my foot out and tripped her.

Then I got back up on my feet and started toward the necklace and the diamond.

One of the snakes in her hair got really long and shot toward me. It grabbed me around my abdomen and threw me across the room into a glass window!

"Ow!" I screamed.

The glass shattered all around me!

"Mua ha ha ha!" Sedusa laughed wickedly.

She grabbed the diamond and the necklace. She stuck the diamond inside the necklace. She started glowing and getting bigger!

I must have done more damage to the leg that I had broken earlier in the summer, even when it was getting better. Now it had gotten worse again. It was throbbing! I couldn't even get up or move.

Sedusa got so giant now that her enormous head broke through the roof of the museum! I could hear tons of screams coming from outside. There were sirens of police cars and fire trucks going off.

"Thank you so much, Megan," Sedusa said evilly.

"For what?" I grunted in pain.

"For being so pathetic!" she replied.

She lifted her foot in the air and put it up in the air over me like she was going to step on me like I was a bug or something.

But then the Power Puff Girls came!

Bubbles lifted me and flew me over to a safer area.

"Hey!" Buttercup snapped.

"Not so fast!" Blossom snapped.

"Sedusa!" Bubbles snapped.

"Power Puff Girls," Sedusa said in an amused tone of voice. "Oh no! It's the Power Puff Girls! Whatever shall I do?"

"You shall fail!" Blossom replied.

She and Buttercup flew up to Sedusa's head and began fighting her. Bubbles stayed by my side. She set me down on the ground.

"You're gonna be okay," she told me.

"Uhhhh," I moaned. "Ow."

"You just need to stay here," Bubbles continued. "I'm gonna stay with you. Blossom and Buttercup can defeat Sedusa, themselves."

"No," I protested. "I know _how_ to defeat her."

"But you're hurt," Bubbles pointed out.

"I can stop her though," I insisted. "I know how to stop her and they don't. I need to help."

"You can't fly," Bubbles said. "And you're hurt. There's no way you can stop her."

"Yes I can," I argued. "Just let me."

"Wait," she said after a little thought.

She looked up at the sky to see how her sisters were doing.

It wasn't going great. Sedusa had already thrown Buttercup into a nearby building with her snake hair and already punched Blossom as hard as she could into another nearby building.

But Blossom and Buttercup still weren't ready to give up yet.

"You will not win, evil doer!" Blossom snapped.

"We're still gonna take you down!" Buttercup assured Sedusa.

"Ha ha," Sedusa laughed. "Let's see whether you'll be able to do that or not."

Then she grabbed a random car that had been parked out on the street and threw it at both of the girls! It hit both of them and caused them to slam against another nearby building!

"Ow," they moaned falling down on the sidewalk.

"Girls!" Bubbles gasped.

"Mua ha ha ha!" Sedusa laughed smirking down at Bubbles. "You're next!" she told her.

She grabbed another car and held it above Bubbles' head and my head. But before it hit us Bubbles flew out of the way, carrying me with her.

Sedusa kept grabbing cars and throwing them in our direction but Bubbles made it so we were dodging all of them.

Tears ran down Bubbles' face.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep this up," she sobbed.

"You're not doing the right thing," I told her. "I know how to defeat her. You're not listening to me."

Bubbles glanced back and looked at her weak sisters, who were just now trying to get up from the sidewalk. They were rubbing their heads and quivering. They looked like they were in a lot of pain.

Bubbles frowned angrily.

"Megan," she said.

"Yeah?" I said.

"What can I do?" she asked.

"You're gonna have to fly me up below her head," I explained. "She's wearing a necklace. The necklace is what's giving her all this power. If I rip the necklace off of her, she shrinks and is powerless again… apart from her hair."

"Okay!" Bubbles said.

She flew me up toward the top of Sedusa.

"What are you doing?" Sedusa asked angrily.

Bubbles flew me toward the necklace.

Sedusa seemed nervous. "No, Megan, not the necklace," she begged. "No, don't take it off right now. I'm your new mother, remember? If you don't take it off I'll buy you cute clothes. I promise! Just don't take the necklace off!"

I grabbed the end of the necklace and tugged on it as hard as I could. It broke right off of her neck and the diamond went tumbling toward the floor!

Sedusa started shrinking back to normal size!

"_NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!" _she screamed.

"We need to catch that diamond before it hits the ground!" I told Bubbles.

"Okay," she said.

She flew me toward the ground. I couldn't believe how much faster we got there than the diamond did. I held out my hand and caught it!

Sedusa was normal sized again. She was a few feet away from Bubbles and I. She was very angry. She screamed and ran toward us.

"What's going on here?" Richard's voice asked.

Sedusa, Bubbles, and I turned around.

"Richie, darling," Sedusa said, quickly tucking her long brown snake hair behind her back. Richard always knew her for having short white blond hair. "I thought you were working overtime at work. What are you doing here?"

"My boss said I could go home," Richard explained. "You said you were gonna be at home so I was gonna see you. And I couldn't wait to see Megan, since it had been so long. But as it turned out, none of you were home, so I got worried.

"I went over to the Utonium's," he continued. "I asked them if they knew where you were. They didn't. So I got really, _really _worried. I was worried Megan ran off to the dump to see the boys and that you, Ima, followed after her to stop her-"

"That's not how it happened!" I argued.

"I know that now," Richard assured me. "Let me explain. So I went to the dump and saw that the boys were fighting, as usual. And they weren't too happy to see me there either. Right before Billy threw Arturo at my head to beat me up, Ace talked to me. He said that both of you _had_ been there at the dump earlier.

"But he explained to me that it was _Ima_ who'd gone there first. And Megan only followed her here because she'd noticed that she'd robbed something from my drawer. Then Ace told me about how Ima was planning on attacking Megan and sent the boys after her to capture her.

"Then Ace said how Ima had gone to the Mayor's office to attack the Mayor and Miss Bellum so they couldn't try to stop her. He said that she then planned to go to the museum to steal a diamond. He said he sent Megan to the Mayor's office to free the Mayor and Miss Bellum and that then she would head off to the museum to stop Sedusa.

"I was shocked. Sedusa? Sedusa wasn't my wife. Ima Goodlady was my wife. But I was wrong. I normally wouldn't trust Ace with his crazy stories, but he told it in such a heartfelt way that I decided I would come here to the museum to see if he was telling the truth. Plus, I didn't believe Megan would do anything she wasn't supposed to.

"Sure enough, as I walked in the door, what did I see? My new wife charging at my daughter like some kinda madman. And sure enough, there's my expensive necklace I bought as an engagement gift for my first wife many years ago. And my daughter's holding the diamond (probably so Sedusa won't get to it again). And Ima, you weren't really a blond?"

"It's true, Mr. Brody!" Bubbles said.

"Yes! Ace told the truth!" Blossom added, running up to everyone.

"For once," Buttercup muttered.

"That little traitor!" Sedusa said angrily. "When I get my hands on him- wait. Don't listen to Ace's tales, Richie, darling. He's just a little creep. He's just trying to stick up for Megan because he's in love with her. He and Megan have been working together from the start. It's _Megan_ who stole the diamond. Look at her! It's in her hand! The only reason I was charging at her was to get it back from her."

"Do you actually believe I would think my own daughter would steal from a museum?" Richard asked. _"You're_ the fake one… like your hair."

Sedusa surrender-sighed. "I'm so sorry, Richie," she said. "I guess it all really_ is_ true. I really did just pretend I loved you to get to your mystical jewelry. But now I feel such guilt and have realized that I love you more than _ever_ now. I know I've lied and I've cheated. But we can start over now. I promise I will make it up to you somehow."

"You don't have to," Richard said. "I'm getting a divorce."

"_A divorce?"_ Sedusa repeated in outrage.

A police man came up from behind Sedusa and handcuffed her. "You're under arrest!" he said. He dragged her toward the door so he could throw her into the back of the police vehicle.

"This is all your fault, Megan!" she shouted angrily. "You should never have messed with me! When I get out of jail you're gonna pay for everything you've done!"

We all just stood there in the museum without saying a word for a few minutes after that.

"Well, good night, Megan," Blossom said, giving me a hug.

"Good night, Megan," Buttercup said, giving me a hug.

"See you tomorrow," Bubbles said, giving me a hug.

"Okay. Bye, guys," I told them.

They flew back to the neighborhood.

Richard looked hurt.

"Let's just go to the car," he finally said.

We walked out the museum doors and got into his car. He was silent during most of the drive.

"I'm sorry she lied to you, Dad," I apologized.

He took a deep breath. "Nah, that's okay," he said. "I just always thought that maybe there was a chance someone could love me again."

"_I_ love you, Dad," I said.

He smiled, leaned over, and kissed me on the head. "I love you too, Megan," he said.

Then we arrived back in front of our house. I had to walk very slowly because of my broken leg.

"Ow," I said when I finally got upstairs to my room.

Ten minutes later Richard came up to my room.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Sorry for what?" I asked confusedly.

"Sorry for not believing in you," he said. "Sorry for thinking you were the problem. _She_ really was always the problem."

"It's okay, Dad," I assured him. "You didn't know any better. In the beginning she_ did_ seem kinda too good to be true."

"Yeah," Richard sighed. "Yeah, well, good night."

He started toward the door.

"Hey, Dad," I said.

"Yeah?" he said turning around.

"There's always Miss Bellum," I pointed out.

He chuckled. "No, I don't think she'd go for me."

"You never know," I said with a smile.

"Good night, Megan," he said.

"Good night," I said.

Then he walked out the door.

And I drifted off to sleep.


	14. Forgive and ForgetOut with a Bang

Megan is in love with Ace, and as it turns out, he's always been in love with her too. Right when everything starts to get better, Megan is told that she has to go home to New York. Her mother heard about what happened in Townsville and wants her safe.

Mrs. Carlson has come to Townsville to take her daughter home. Things were finally getting back to normal after a few days in New York, but Megan wants to get back to Townsville right away when she hears the Power Puff Girls are in trouble. Mrs. Carlson is against her going back. (Warning, it's a very long chapter! But it's worth it!  )

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

Forgive and Forget

Chapter 14

The next morning I went for a walk around the city of Townsville, hoping to find Ace but not the other members of the Gangreen Gang.

I wasn't even concerned about whether he'd act like a real jerk or not if I saw him. I was gonna make peace with him. I brushed my hair a hundred times and got dressed into a leather jacket and a short skirt. I wanted to make a good last impression.

Then I found the Gangreen Gang.

They were all inside the candy shop. I peeked in at them through the window. Snake was eating elastic candy. Arturo was drinking coffee. Grubber was eating garbage. Billy was eating rock hard candy.

I didn't see Ace in there.

Then I did.

He wasn't inside the candy shop though. He was standing across the street next to a garbage can. I took a deep breath and started toward him.

"Hey," I said in a soft voice.

He didn't respond. He seemed more solemn today than I'd ever seen him before. He still looked the same. He had the same shiny black hair, the same harsh eyes, the same dark shades, the same outfit, and of course, the same skin color.

But he just looked different.

He looked like he no longer had power. It was kind of a sad sight, but it was actually sorta beautiful.

I hated seeing a man who had such power in the past seem so sorrowful in the present. I doubted it was because of _me,_ but if it _was,_ then I hated to think I took any part in his unhappiness.

I stared him up and down. "Ace," I said.

His chest heaved in and out.

I reached for his hand. He took it away. He turned away. My eyes stung. Were they watering?

"Ace, what's wrong?" I wanted to know.

He inhaled and exhaled.

"_Please_ tell me," I begged.

"Ya wanna know the real truth?" he asked.

No words came out of my mouth, so I just nodded eagerly.

He side-glanced at me. _"You_ are what's wrong," he explained. "Cause, ya know, over the years I've seen myself as something great. I saw myself as this handsome, charismatic guy. I was pretty clever. I could trick women into doing whatever I wanted them to do just with a smile. I could scare people away. I was pretty well respected, and pretty feared.

"Nobody messed with Ace," he continued. "I was a leader. I had four crazy friends that looked up to me. They wanted to be just like me. They looked up to me. I was their hero. I was a leader.

"So one day I see the ad in the paper for Mr. Brody's Psychology Workshop, and I think that would be perfect for me and the guys. Not because we want to learn to control our anger, but because we want to annoy somebody else.

"And for the first few weeks it was a blast. The guy was a total wimp, just like I hoped he would be. He was a perfect torture target for me and the guys. We could tell the Gangreen Gang was way too much for poor Richard Brody.

"Then Friday night came. It was a Friday like every other. I told the boys we were gonna traumatize Brody again, and we were on our way to the workshop. Everything was the same. If only I'd known, I ain't _never_ had brought the boys.

"Suddenly everything's different. There's this girl in the room… this beautiful, magnificent, unbelievably perfect girl. Ugh! That skin, those eyes, that hair… and for once, I felt uncomfortable."

He clenched his fists when he took another moment to look at me. Then he continued, "I talked to her, okay? It shouldn't have been much different than any other time I talked to any other girl. Pretty girls always melted at the sight of me. They'd always given anything to be by my side. Me. Ace. The most dangerous man in the City of Townsville.

"And I knew this girl was falling for me too. I'd caught another damsel in distress in my web.

"But then the hunter was captured by the game. Like other girls, this girl actually wanted to see me again. But unlike other girls, the thought of this girl wanting to see me scared me to death. I ain't ever been scared of nothing before that.

"So I wanted to get back at her. I would show her I didn't care about her whatsoever. I didn't show up the next week like she wanted me to do. I wanted to show the boys no one brought Ace Copular down.

"But then (the nerve of this girl), the girl comes down to the dump to yell at me for not coming to see her! This was too much for me to handle. I didn't want this chick anywhere near me. She did things to me. And I gave in. I harassed her because I couldn't let her just come to me and ruin my life without a fight. She was gonna pay. But then them Power Puff Girls had to come and save her from me.

"And then for the next few nights I did something I'd never done before in my life. I _cried!_ Me! Ace! I cried! Crying makes ya less of a man! But I was hurt! Can you imagine me crying?"

"No," I replied.

I couldn't imagine Ace crying, but I felt like _I _was about to cry. I'd never heard this story from him before. I almost didn't want him to continue, but he did anyway.

"Then I saw her again," he said. "So I made the boys help me to capture her, so I could just _have_ her.

"But then she got away from me _again_. And then was when I realized she wasn't as weak as I thought. She actually had power, like me. She was on my level. So I decided to talk it over with Sedusa.

"As it turned out, Sedusa had a problem with her too. Sedusa was getting married to Richard so she could get to his jewelry, and the daughter didn't approve. So she thought the gal might cause problems. I told Sedusa about every time I'd dealt with the girl and she came up with a plan; a plan to destroy her happiness.

"So she told me to dance with the girl at the wedding rehearsal (which wasn't allowed with her father) so she would get grounded. And then Sedusa told all the other villains to destroy her at the museum, so she'd no longer bother me or Sedusa. But then MoJo saved her and used her for his own needs. So she escaped again.

"And then when I knew there was nothing more I could do, I headed back to the dump to defeat that Power Puff Girl. But then that girl had to come back to the dump! That was way more than I could handle. But before I could do anything, she was gone again.

"Then I figured out she was at the workshop not long later and so I went there to save her. All the villains were there and I just felt I needed to save her. I wouldn't let anyone else, besides me, get to her.

"And then… I'd felt I'd given up on trying to hurt her. I gave up."

He took a deep breath. "Now I finally realize that my whole life's been a lie. In reality, I'm not handsome or charming. I'm ugly and crude. And I wasn't a hero. I was a bully. And now the police are gonna come to arrest me and the others.

"So, the reason I've always been mad at you is because you made me feel a way I'd never felt about anyone before. I hated you because I never… ugh… I never wanted to love anyone before."  
There was a long moment of silence.

Then I took his shades off his face and put them on mine. He frowned and looked at me. I laughed.

"You know what?" I asked. "I've felt things I never felt before whenever I was around you too."

He looked less angry now. "How? Why me?"

I stood close to him and kissed him on the lips.

He didn't do anything gross back like I thought he would do. He just stood there and let me kiss him.

"I think you deserve that," I said.

"I can't believe you," he said shaking his head in confusion.

"Why not?" I asked. "You said a bunch of other girls fall for you too. Why am I any different?"

"Cause you're too good for me," he said.

"That doesn't make any difference," I said.

"I've never met anyone who made me feel that way," Ace said, turning pink. "I always thought I was better than everybody. Until now."

"Maybe it's a good thing I came into your life then," I pointed out.

"But now I've committed more crime than I ever did before you came along," he said.

We heard sirens coming our way.

"Those are the police?" I asked.

"Yep," Ace said nodding. "Those are them cops; here to take us to jail where we belong."

The other Gangreen Gang members came out of the store with their candy. They looked surprised the police cars were coming. They tried to turn around and go back into the store.

"Hey, forget it, boys!" Ace snapped at them. "This time we're just gonna do what they say, alright? We're gonna leave calmly and quietly. We've given Townsville enough trouble already."

"You've been in jail before?" I asked.

"Yes," he said nodding.

"Did someone bail you out?" I asked.

"Yes," Ace said.

"Who was it?"

"I don't remember anymore."

"Can I bail you out?"

Ace sighed sadly and shook his head. "Why would you want to do that?" he wanted to know.

"Cause I feel like it," I replied.

"But after all the horrible things I did to you?" he reminded me.

"I don't even remember what you did anymore," I said.

"Yes you do," he argued.

"It's my responsibility," I said. "I'm gonna bail you guys out once you're in jail."

"I don't understand you."

"You don't have to."

The police cars parked right there.

The other members of the Gangreen Gang looked as if they had an emergency to go to the bathroom and were forced to hold it in for hours.

"Alright, boys," the cop said, walking up to them. He handcuffed Arturo, then Snake, then Grubber, then Billy. He motioned for them to get into his car. Then he walked up to Ace. "I'm disappointed," he told him as he handcuffed him. "I even heard that you saved the day a little while ago."

"Yes," Ace said. "But that doesn't mean I didn't do horrible things before that."

"Well, don't worry," the cop said. "You've gotten out of jail before; you'll probably get out of it again."

"Bye, Ace," I said when he was put into the car.

He didn't respond. He just stared solemnly at me.

"I'm gonna bail you guys out!" I called after the police cars as they drove off. "I promise!"

The others looked grateful but Ace shook his head.

"No, Megan," he said.

I ignored him. "I'm gonna bail you out," I repeated.

"Don't do it," he said grimly.

"You don't have the right to tell me what to do," I argued.

"Yes I do," he snapped. "And you can't bail me out because I don't deserve it. I don't deserve _you._ I never have, and I never will."

"I don't care whether you deserve me or _not,"_ I said before the vehicles disappeared.

"Megan," he said, sticking his head out the window to glare back at me. I could tell he was really mad. "I won't let you do that."

I didn't respond. The vehicle disappeared.

I wasn't gonna let Ace tell me what to do.

I think after all he did to me I had the right to do something for myself for once.

I walked back to my neighborhood and walked right up to the Utonium's front door. I rang the doorbell. Professor Utonium answered it. He put on a smile when he saw it was me.

"Uh…hello, Megan," he said.

I tried to ignore his baffled reaction.

"Hi, Professor," I said. "I wanted to talk to the girls. Are they here right now?"

"No," he said. "They're out trying to capture a criminal-"

"Which one?" I asked curiously.

"I don't know," the Professor replied.

I should have been out fighting with them.

"Can I come inside?" I asked.

"Sure," he said. "Come in. Wait in the dining room. They'll be home soon."

He put his hand on my upper back and walked me over to the dining room table. I sat down and glanced at him awkwardly when he sat down as well. He poured coffee into his cup and glanced at me.

"You haven't come around in a while," he said.

"I know," I sighed. "I haven't been a very good friend lately."

"What happened?" he wanted to know.

"The bottom line is I've been really scared," I explained. "I betrayed the girls a while ago so I could supposedly get powers from Mojo, and then afterward I was kinda too scared to show my face in public because so many villains are after me."

The Professor nodded understandingly.

"I don't want to interrupt," he said. "But as far as I know, those villains are being very vocal about finding you, so you might wanna-"

"Wanna what?" I asked.

"Wanna hide a little bit longer," he said. "A bunch of them are out to get you: Him, Fuzzy, Princess, Sedusa, the Amoeba Boys, and I still think Mojo's planning his revenge-"

"But I can defeat them if I really want to," I pointed out. "And the girls can help me."

"But the villains all think you can't do it," the Professor said. "They still think of you as that weak, little-"

"_How?!"_ I wanted to know. "I've kicked, like, almost all of their butts at least once!"

"They still think you just got lucky."

"I can't believe this."

"I'm sorry, Megan. The girls have been trying to track them all down and stop them from making any plans, but they haven't been successful yet."

"I need to help them defeat the villains," I said. "I need to gain my respect back."

"Excuse me, Megan," the Professor said. "I need to go over to your father's house and have a talk with him. You stay here. Don't move. I don't want any of the villains to find you."

He walked out the door and gave me one last look before he was gone.

I angrily slammed my fists against the dining table when he was no longer nearby.

An hour later he still wasn't back.

"Where _is_ he?" I growled.

The door opened. I was about to scream at the Professor and demand to know what kept him so long. What was he telling my father?

But the Professor wasn't there.

It was the Power Puff Girls.

All three of them.

When they approached me I practically collapsed into their little arms. I started sobbing. They just held onto me. I must have fallen asleep because I woke up and I was no longer at the dining table. I was in their bed in their beautiful, peaceful little bedroom.

I could hear their voices downstairs. I just knew they were talking about me. They were in the kitchen. I tried my hardest to listen and finally heard.

"We need to make sure she's safe," Blossom said.

"She could stay with us forever and ever!" Bubbles said in a bubbly tone of voice.

"Yeah!" Buttercup agreed. "Then they'll never get to her."

"No, girls," Blossom sighed. "You know that's just not the way it can be."

"What do you mean?" Bubbles sniffed.

"The Professor and Richard said specifically that the only way Megan's going to be safe is if she goes home to New York with her mother," Blossom reminded them.

I gasped.

"_Ugh!"_ Buttercup screamed. I could tell she wanted to knock something over. "She _can't _leave!"

"Buttercup, you _know_ very well that that's the way it's gotta be," Blossom said strictly.

"Yes," Bubbles said. She sounded like she was crying. "Maybe everything will get back to normal for her if she goes home."

Anger boiled up inside of me.

I didn't _want_ things to get back to normal for me.

All my life I'd been a stiff, sad child of divorce with no friends, no confidence, and no adventure. I'd never actually had a childhood. I wasn't like other kids.

But when I came to Townsville I made new friends; the best friends anyone could ever have. I'd also gained a lot of confidence I never knew I was capable of having. And I'd gotten so much adventure. It was more adventure over the course of two months than I'd had in fourteen years. Just Ace alone- had given me so much adventure. I'd never felt more adrenaline running through my veins before I met him. Everything was boring and safe.

Why would I want to get rid of everything right when I'd gotten more than I'd ever had before? Right when I was actually making a life; even as abnormal as it was; why would I give it all away?

I didn't want to talk to the girls right now after hearing what they said.

But I couldn't let them know I heard what they said. I didn't want them to think I eavesdropped on them after everything I'd done to them before.

They came in the room with a plate full of chocolate chip cookies. I had to put on a happy face, even though my eyes were so watery they looked like they could have been made of glass.

"Here," Blossom said. Her lips were quivering.

I could tell she was just as upset as I was.

She kept a smile on though. I was still blown away by how poised Blossom could make herself look, even when her heart was breaking on the inside. I loved her. I wished she were my sister.

I took a chocolate chip cookie from her plate and stuck it in my mouth. I chewed. It was the best thing I'd tasted in a long time- especially when you'd been living off of nothing but cold pizza for two months.

"Do you like it?" Blossom asked.

"I love it," I promised.

"We tried to make them the best we could," Buttercup added. She was staring at the ground.

I shook my head in amazement. Buttercup blew me away too. She was always trying to be tough and strong, but sometimes staying strong would get to be too tough on her, and her emotions would shine through. I loved her and wished she were my sister too. I wanted to give them a big hug.

"They _are_ the best," I assured her.

"We're gonna get some water for you," Bubbles said. The sunlight coming in the room from the window shone on her hair, causing it to almost look like it was glowing. She was so beautiful. I also wished she could have been my sister.

"Thank you," I said faintly.

Blossom and Buttercup tried to look strong as they left the room. Bubbles was about to leave the room with them as well but I grabbed her and gave her a big hug before she could. I buried my face in her buttery blond hair and just cried. I cried and cried. She gave me a small little hug back.

Blossom and Buttercup came back.

They gave me a glass of iced water. I drank it gratefully. I sat there staring at them. I wanted to always remember how they looked.

"You know what I want?" I finally said when it got too quiet.

"What?" Blossom asked.

"A picture of you," I said. "All three of you."

Blossom nodded at her siblings.

Buttercup walked over to a corner of the room where there was a trunk full of pictures. She handed me a picture of the three of them. In it they were sitting on their couch in the Professor's lap.

I pressed the picture to my chest and let a few more tears fall.

I didn't want to leave.

But the part that made me the saddest was that it was probably right for me to leave. Everyone knew leaving would make me safe. Though I thought I could, I really couldn't take on all these villains. I was actually gonna go back home to New York.

Megan, this time you aren't gonna get your way.

The girls just sat with me and we didn't say anything aloud. But we knew we were telling each other so much by just looking at each other. And we could tell what everyone in the room was saying.

I must have drifted off to sleep because I woke up in the middle of the night when the girls were sleeping on the bed near me me. Bubbles was to my right side. I smiled and pet her soft yellow hair. I stroked it gently and then drifted off to sleep again.

The next morning I had breakfast with the girls.

The Professor was there too.

I was still mad at him but I didn't tell him that. I was pretty good at pretending, so I pretended I didn't know he and my parents were just gonna ship me off back to New York.

"Good morning, Megan," he said with a smile.

"Good morning, Professor," I replied politely.

"How was your sleep?"

"I was fine."

"Good."

"How's my father?"

"He's good," the Professor sighed.

He put his coffee cup down and folded his hands together. "Girls," he said, looking at the girls. "I think it's time we told her the truth."

The girls looked miserable. At least this wouldn't be as hard on me since I knew what they were gonna say.

"Megan…" Blossom said. "Good bye."

Two mornings later when I was in my creaky bed I was woken by my mother. She was sitting on the foot of my bed.

"Megan," she said softly. "Megan, wake up."

I rubbed my eyes and saw her smiling. She _never_ smiled! I hadn't seen Anna Carlson smile since she'd been with my dad years and years ago.

"…Mom," I said faintly.

"You were in a deep sleep," she said.

That got me worried. Was everything that just happened over the last two months really just a _dream?_ Had I been in New York the whole time, and not Townsville? Had I never met the Power Puff Girls? Had I never met Ace?

But then I realized all that really _did _happen, because I was in that creaky bed in that musty room in Richard Brody's small house in the suburbs of the city of Townsville. I really _was_ here.

And I was leaving. Today.

"Mom…" I said again. My eyes filled up with tears.

She leaned over and gave me a big hug.

"It's okay, baby," she said. "It's all over."

She held me for a few minutes and rocked me back and forth. I just cried and leaned on her shoulder. She stroked my hair and began singing a lullaby she always used to sing to me when I was a very, very little girl.

Then she said, "It's alright now. Nobody's ever gonna try to hurt you again. I'm not gonna let anyone hurt you. We're going home."

I wanted to tell her I didn't want to go home, but as much as I didn't want there to be, there was a part of me that actually _wanted_ to go home and would go home with her willingly.

"Your father and I packed all your things while you were sleeping last night," Anna explained. "So you can just relax and come to the car. I'm taking you back to New York with me and Daniel."

I nodded and followed her to the living room.

Richard was sitting at the tiny, wooden coffee table in front of the TV. He looked more tired than I'd ever seen him look before. Richard had always been so full of life, until Sedusa told the truth. That was just another thing that made me hate Sedusa.

"Oh, Megan," he gushed.

He stood up and walked quickly up to me. He gave me a big hug and I hugged him back. We just stood there a few minutes. I could tell he was just as sorry as the Power Puff Girls and the Professor were for everything that had happened to me lately.

"It's okay, Dad," I assured him.

"I wish Sedusa never entered our lives," he sobbed. "She ruined all our plans for the summer. I was gonna spend every moment with you. I should have never let her get to me. She was nothing but trouble. But don't worry. You'll be fine with your mother. She doesn't make mistakes like I do."

Anna put her hand to her heart.

"You didn't make any mistakes, Dad," I said, even though I know he did. _"Sedusa_ was the one who made a mistake by messing with us."

Richard looked up at Anna. "I know you heard all about Sedusa, and-"

"I did," Anna said nodding.

"You're probably not very happy," Richard said.

Then Anna did something I thought I'd never see her do again. She put her arms around her ex husband's shoulders and kissed him on the lips.

"It's okay," she said to him, just like she had said to me earlier. "It's all over."

I promised Richard I would call him that night to let him know I got home safely.

I walked out of Richard's house and got into Daniel's SUV.

Daniel didn't say much on the ride. He was the kinda person who liked light conversations. Anna probably told him everything Richard told her about Townsville, and there was nothing light about it.

Anna sat in the backseat with me instead of the front seat with her husband so she could ask me questions, even though I didn't feel like answering them.

"When Daniel and I arrived here in Townsville last night we had a very long chat with both your father and this Professor Utonium," Anna explained. "They told me many things."

"Like what?" I asked curiously.

"Well, they told me about you being a hero," she said smiling. "I was very impressed, even though I always thought of you as a hero, even before you saved the world from an evil monkey."

I smiled. She continued, "They told me you were friends with Utonium's daughters, the Power Puff Girls. You baby sat for them. I even met them. They were also talking to us last night. They were very sweet girls; awfully mature for their age."

"Yeah, they're amazing," I sighed.

My stomach hurt when I remembered them.

I was leaving them.

"But, Megan," she said in an angry, but worried tone of voice. "They all told me about your romance."

"My romance?" I repeated.

"With that green skinned boy," Anna said.

Oh, Ace.

"I wouldn't really call it a _romance,"_ I said.

"Megan," she said annoyedly. "I wasn't very happy when I heard all the things you did to be with that boy. I'm just glad you're leaving him. You'll never have to see him again."

That was right. I was leaving Townsville before I could even bail him out of jail.

"You think I wanted to be _with_ Ace?" I chuckled nervously.

"Megan!" she said.

It was kinda stupid for me to question my feelings for Ace anymore. I knew very well by now that he'd been the first and only man I ever met that gave me butterflies at the very sound of his name. He had been what made me toss and turn every night for the last two months.

"Truth was that I was gonna bail Ace out of jail," I said.

Anna looked angry. "It's a really good thing you're going back to New York."

It wasn't a _great _thing. I really needed to help Ace.

Anna was looking through all the newspapers Richard had given her from the last two months about my fame, friendship with the Power Puff Girls, and relationship with Ace of the Gangreen Gang.

There was a picture of me standing next to the Mayor and Miss Bellum.

"I'm leaving forever," I said weakly.

"Your father told me about all the characters you ran into during your stay," Anna said with a chuckle. "At first I thought they were all just figments from his childish imagination until the Utonium's backed him up, and of course, when I saw the newspapers articles."

"Who did he tell you about?" I asked curiously.

"Of course, that evil genius of a chimpanzee," Anna said. "I wasn't happy when I heard how he tried to kill you. And then he told me about that demonic drag queen and his adopted sons. And then about the crazy hillbilly creature and those three life-sized viruses. Also, there was some spoiled little brat that you were baby sitting for, then Sedusa, and then those green guys you were crushing on."

"I only had a crush on _one _of them," I snapped.

Let's get our facts straight.

"Same difference," Anna said rolling her eyes.

Not really. I wouldn't be caught _dead_ having a crush on any of the other Gangreen Gang members, especially not _Grubber_.

New York wasn't too far away from Townsville.

Anna said, "We're only an hour away from New York."

But we didn't just live in New York. We lived in New York _City. _

That was still a whiles away to go from here.

I waited patiently.

Then we finally got back to our famous home of New York City.

There were car horns honking, loud people shouting at each other, crowded sidewalks with hardly any room to move, historical landmarks, large buildings, and sky scrapers that covered the sky.

We drove past Central Park where our apartment was.

"Well, Megan, it must feel good to be able to walk around without feeling endangered," Daniel chuckled lightheartedly.

I smiled grimly.

Daniel always had to make a joke out of everything, even if it wasn't funny.

We entered the apartment lobby. Rich people smiled and nodded at us. I was living in luxury again. It reminded me of when I was famous in Townsville.

We got to the elevator and got upstairs to the fifth floor of the apartment.

Anna opened the door of our place.

The living room looked neat. The pillows were neatly placed on the couch, the rug was flat on the tile floors, the fake flowers were in their vase, the flat screened TV was up on the wall, the chandelier was hanging above the dining table, and there wasn't a trace amount of food left out in the kitchen.

This was definitely not Richard's place.

"Megan, you should unpack your stuff in your room," Anna said.

I nodded and took my luggage over to my room, which now seemed more like a hotel room than the actual room I'd been sleeping in for years.

The room seemed unfamiliar to me. The queen-sized bed with the white headboard, the pink pillows, and the golden comforter seemed like they belonged to someone else. My white desk with the Mac computer and the colorful picture frames filled with pictures of all my relatives I never saw and kids who I'd considered as friends over the years weren't mine either. Not anymore.

I glanced at the green picture frame with the picture of Richard in it. It had been in the back row of all the picture frames. I lifted it from its place and put it in the very front row. Front and center. I'd switched it with a picture of some kid I knew in elementary who used to play in the sandbox with me.

Why were _they _in the front? It wasn't like I knew them anymore.

I looked up at the ceiling at my dainty ceiling fan with the pretty, tear-drop shaped light bulbs on them. I was much too edgy for something so pristine.

Then I looked at my reflection in the mirror above my desk. After I'd left Townsville I no longer felt the need to stare at myself in a mirror. I'd only ever done that to know who I was.

But I _knew_ who I was now.

I was Megan Carlson-Brody. I was smart like Blossom. I was sweet like Bubbles. I was tough like Buttercup. And I was beautiful like all three of them.

I no longer needed a mirror to show me who I was.

I was MEGAN!

MEGAN CARLSON-BRODY!

Yeah, I unpacked all my stuff. I put all my stuffed animals back on their shelves. At least they reminded me of my trip to Townsville.

When I was done in my room I left it and spent some time with my mother out on the balcony.

We sat on the swing and she put her arm around me.

"You've changed," she said to me.

"Really?" I said.

"Yeah," she said. "You seem much more confident, and stronger."

I didn't even mention my broken leg to her.

"Yeah, well, if you went through what _I_ went through…" I chuckled.

"You're wearing a cast," she said, lifting the cuff of my jeans.

Anna was always smarter than Richard. No wonder it was _her _that noticed it and not Richard.

"Oh, yeah," I said, waving concern away with my hand like it was a fly. "There was some incident with a trash can, but that was a while ago. It's actually been doing a little better now. I think it'll be fine in a few more weeks."

Anna observed Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup's signatures.

"You and those girls were obviously really close," she said.

"Yep," I said nodding. "They were the best friends I ever had."

"I'm glad you made friends, Megan," Anna said.

"Can I call them sometime?" I asked.

"Of _course_ you can," she replied. "But don't do it too often. It might annoy them."

"Nah, it wouldn't annoy them," I assured her. "I was their idol. They were crazy about me."

Anna laughed kindly. "Even _so,"_ she said. "They're going to be starting first grade. They'll get older. And then maybe they won't have any idols anymore."

I didn't believe her. I didn't want to believe her.

So I didn't take too much consideration into what she said.

Anna made a face. "So, can you tell me what you found so interesting about this weird green boy?" she asked, her voice sounding disgusted.

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. I spoke in a why-does-it-really-matter tone of voice. "I guess it was cause he was charming and charismatic-"

"And bad?" she interrupted.

"What?" I said confusedly.

"Did you like the guy cause he was bad?"

"Well, no-"

"Lots of girls like bad boys. It's natural-"

"No, Mom. That's not why I liked him, okay?"

"Fine, fine. What was his name?"

"Ace."

I said it under my breath so she couldn't hear.

"What?"

"Ace."

"Oh, Ace. That's right. Richard mentioned his name. Yeah, all he and the girls told me was about how bad he was; except that Richard said something about him helping him find you, and figuring out that Sedusa was bad news or something."

"Yeah, that's right," I said. "Ace was bad most of the time, but then at the end he was helpful. He told me he loved me."

"Boys his age don't love," Anna said shaking her head. "He's too young to love. Think of your father, for example. I met him when he was Ace's age. He told me he was in love with me many times, but as it turned out, we had nothing in common."

I frowned. "Richard _did_ love you!" I snapped. "And I know you loved him too. Kinda like Ace loves me, and I love him back."

Anna looked uncomfortable. "Well, if that's the case, at least Richard wasn't a sickly teenaged hoodlum."

"You shouldn't insult Ace like that," I said.

"Why?" Anna laughed. "Cause it's not easy being green?"

I didn't want to laugh but I did anyway.

"Stop it, Mom," I said.

She kissed my hair. "I love you so much, Megan," she said. "Don't worry. Ace won't mess with your head ever again. And since you're not in Townsville anymore, you'll probably meet a boy with better manners."

"Mom, we're in _New York,"_ I reminded her. "Ace probably has better manners than anyone _here."_

"True," Anna sighed. "But at least guys here aren't _green."_

I tried not to laugh again.

Anna had never acted this way before. She'd always been so serious in the past.

Maybe she was suddenly being easy going since I had gone through so much over the last two months and she wanted me to be able to relax more.

I looked out at the view from the balcony. I was staring at tons of blinking, honking cars in a traffic jam and street lights and advertisement signs.

When I was in my tiny house in the suburbia of Townsville I had been in the bottom of the heap, and now up in my apartment in New York I was at the top. Or maybe it was the opposite.

I kept expecting to see a monster attack and people screaming and running for their dear lives. Then I would expect to see the Power Puff Girls whizzing by and defeating the bad guy.

For some reason I almost felt like I was in the middle of a very vivid dream right now. A vivid dream that was much more realistic than reality was.

Anna held me closer and kissed me on my nose the way she used to do when I was really little.

She began singing that lullaby she used to sing to me again.

I fell asleep again.

I had a weird dream just then.

In it Sedusa was trying to capture Daniel's attention, and my mother and my father were going to be getting married again. Also, the Amoeba Boys were buying dolls for Princess. It was weird, but I should have expected it after everything I'd seen.

I spent a few days in New York after that, and I was actually kinda getting used to the way life was in the past before I moved to Townsville.

There was elegant breakfast at the downstairs café at the food court of the apartment. Then I always took Anna and Daniel to work. And then there was lunch at Starbucks, dinner at a fancy restaurant, and possibly a trip to Broadway on Friday nights.

One morning at breakfast I was sitting in my seat listening to a conversation Anna and Daniel were having together.

"So Townsville is really getting flooded with villains now," Daniel explained, looking up from the paper. "It says here that all the villains are now trying things they've never tried before. They're all teaming up and making new schemes to destroy the place."

I looked up at him.

Anna noticed.

"Daniel, we don't really have to talk about that right now," she said nervously.

"It also says that the Power Puff Girls have lost a dozen battles already because they are broken hearted," Daniel added.

Anna looked frantically back and forth between Daniel and me.

"Do we _really_ need to discuss this, Daniel?" Anna asked.

"And homes are being torn up," Daniel added.

"Richard," I said aloud.

Anna and Daniel glanced at me.

When they didn't respond I said, "The villains have torn up Richard's home, haven't they?"

"Well, Megan, we have no proof of that," Anna stuttered. "It just said they were tearing up _homes;_ not _Richard's _home, necessarily."

"And they've probably torn up the Power Puff Girls' house as well," I said.

"Don't worry about it, Megan," Daniel said in a carefree tone of voice before he took another bite of his waffle. "The Power Puff Girls are just going through a short stage of depression. Once they feel better they'll start fighting again and things will get back to normal. You'll see."

I sat there for a moment letting my mind race.

"You're _wrong,_ Daniel," I decided. "It's all _my_ fault the Power Puff Girls have stopped fighting. They're brokenhearted because I was their idol, their older sister, their hero, and I _left_ them."

"Megan, you are not thinking about going back to Townsville!" Anna said worriedly.

"Mom, I've gotta go!" I insisted. "Dad _and_ the girls are in trouble!"

"Megan, I know you're upset, but you're targeted more than anyone else in the City of Townsville!" Anna pointed out. "You going there would be letting the bad guys win!"

I looked at her.

"I've never lost a battle, Mom," I reminded her. "I've never _once_ lost a battle."

"You're not going back to Townsville and that's final!" Anna snapped.

People sitting nearby turned around to see what the matter was.

"Mom, I can't just stay here and do nothing," I pointed out.

"That _is_ what you're going to do!" she insisted.

"I made a promise to the City of Townsville!" I said. "And I promised everyone I would be there to help them if they were in trouble."

"That's a pretty big promise for a fourteen year old girl to make to a whole city," Anna pointed out. "And if they're so scared of their own shadow then why can't they just call a moving van company and get the hell out of Townsville, huh?"

"Townsville's their home, Mom," I reminded her.

"I don't care," she said shaking her head. "If your father's in such terrible trouble he should just move back to wherever the hell he came from."

I couldn't believe she was saying this.

"Mom, I'm going back to Townsville!" I said.

"_No,_ you are _not,_ and that is _final!"_ she shouted.

People stared at us.

Anna had tears in her eyes.

She stopped eating and pushed her plate aside.

"I'm not gonna discuss this any further," she said quietly. "Townsville is worse than Hell, itself, and all you've wanted to do since you've come back home is go back there."

"Mom-" I began.

"No, Megan," she said. "I would have been fine with having you live there if you hadn't created such a stir while you were there. You are forbidden to go back to the City of Townsville and I will press charges against the Utonium's if you go back."

I sat there with my mouth hanging wide open.

"But, Mom, that isn't fair."

"That's the way it's gonna be, Megan. If you go back to Townsville, just expect a bunch of law suits."

She walked away.

So I was just sitting there awkwardly next to Daniel. Daniel didn't have much to say. So he just said, "Sorry I brought up the situation."

"No, you don't have to be sorry about that," I assured him. "I needed to know. It's a good thing you told me."

That evening I listened as Anna called her mother on the phone. Anna was sobbing loudly. Before today I'd never seen nor heard Anna cry.

I knew it wasn't right to eavesdrop, but I was really curious to know what she was saying.

"I _hate _those Power Puff Girls, Mother," she was saying. "I really do _hate _them with everything in me. Why'd my stupid ex husband have to introduce my daughter to them in the first place? I've been worried about her ever since.

"She's always been wanting to go back to Townsville and it's just so damn dangerous over there. And now she's _begging_ to go back because she thinks those girls are in trouble.

"What am I supposed to do? I'm just an ordinary woman and I've never had to deal with super heroes or evil geniuses or anything like that in my life. I'm much more fortunate than Megan is. Her life was weird enough as it is before she moved there. I thought maybe things would be normal for her there.

"Please tell me what I should do. I'm just so worried about Megan. I don't want anything to happen to her, but I just know she's gonna go back. She is gonna go back, even though I told her she can't. What am I supposed to do?"

I felt guilty.

I didn't want my mom to be upset but I really needed to go back to Townsville to save my Power Puff Girls and Ace.

Was I supposed to leave them to die?

I walked over to my bedroom and grabbed my eighth grade back pack from my closet. I packed a few things, including a picture of my mom.

I needed to see Richard again. I needed to make sure he was alright. For all I knew, _he_ could have been the one all the villains tore the city up to find. He was my father, and I was a major target.

So I basically needed to get there pronto.

I couldn't drive or anything so I got on a bus that went to the airport. I wrote a note for my mother and Daniel and set it down on my pillow before I left.

Mom and Daniel, I just have to go. My dad's in trouble.

The airport was crowded because of all the people that had places to go at night time. But there were only adults there and I felt all alone.

I was also nervous because I didn't have a plane ticket or anything. I was only fourteen and I'd never gone on a plane before so I didn't know how to purchase one. I didn't have a passport either.

I was gonna have to sneak on a plane. I would have to think of the easiest possible way to sneak past the flight attendant and get on the plane without being noticed. It would be difficult, but I would have to figure out how to do it.

But the flight attendant was standing right next to the plane to Townsville.

I had a plan. An easier plan.

"Excuse me, sir," I said. "But my mom has my ticket and she's already on the plane."

The attendant rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. "Fine, I'll let you on the plane," he said, putting his hand on my back. "But I have to walk in with you and make sure your mother's actually on this plane."

"Certainly, sir," I said nervously.

Hopefully there was a lady on the plane.

There was.

Of course she didn't look like Anna, but she actually looked more like me than Anna did. She had dark hair like I did instead of red hair like Anna's.

"That's her, sir," I said pointing to her.

"Okay, just making sure," the attendant said with a pained smile.

Then he got to the front of the plane.

I took a seat a few rows in front of the lady.

I didn't know why I was taking the plane anyway. Townsville wasn't too far away from New York. Probably because I didn't know how to get there and I didn't want to be out for hours in the middle of the night without any sense of direction.

I almost fell asleep on the plane since there was a movie playing and it was one from the 1940's that was filmed in black and white, and I just wasn't in the mood for that right now.

But then the flight attendant tapped me on the shoulder and said, "You're mother just got off the plane without you."

"Oh goodness!" I gasped. "I don't want her to go too far without me!"

I jumped up from my seat and ran toward the door of the plane. The flight attendant stared at me as I walked off. He obviously knew that the lady I was following really wasn't my mother. But that didn't make him stop me from getting off the plane.

There I was again. The City of Townsville.

A chill went over me as I heard a scream from inside the city. I heard evil laughter and the sound of something collapsing. I was gonna move in.

"Hey," the flight attendant said.

He hadn't left yet.

I turned around and said, "Yeah?"

"You might not wanna be here," the attendant said, staring at the destruction from faraway. "It's not too late. I can still fly you home, if you like."

"That's really nice of you, but no thank you," I told him. "I _have_ to be here."

"Are you _sure?"_ he asked.

"Yes." I nodded.

He gave me one last look. "Okay, whatever you say," he said.

Then the plane doors closed and it took off.

I moved toward my neighborhood.

The houses were all there. Yeah, they were all damaged. Some of the doors and parts of fences were in driveways and cars were turned upside down.

I made my way through the ruins over to Richard's house. I gasped. The door was on the ground and all the furniture was broken and shelves were tipped over with all their contents on the floor.

There was glass all over the kitchen tile floor.

I ran to Richard's bedroom and saw he wasn't there. All that was in there were a broken window and his blankets were on the side of the room opposite the bed. They were over by the window.

It was so lonely but noisy in the house.

Everything was broken and water was running and electricity was frying.

I had to get out of here as soon as possible and find the Power Puff Girls so we could look for my father together.

The Utonium's house was ruined too.

Neither the Professor nor his daughters were in there. The lab was flooded so when I walked inside there was water flowing up to my knees.

I had to get out of that house quickly too.

Where were the Power Puff Girls?

Had their kidnapper been my father's kidnapper too?

I ran over in the direction of the city even though I wasn't how sure I wanted to do that. There was a ton of trouble going on there and I wasn't so sure I wanted to be stuck in the middle of it, especially because of how wanted I was in Townsville.

Well, anyway, I was famous for wearing my hair down so I quickly grabbed the scrunchie that was on my wrist and put it in my hair. Now I was wearing a pony tail and I'd be less recognizable. _Somewhat_.

I ran through the city. There were a few people scattered here and there, running for their lives. One man ran up to me and grabbed me by my shoulders.

"Did you just come off a plane?!" he asked frantically.

Maybe he though that because my clothes were all dry (except for my pants) and I wasn't injured or anything.

"Yes," I replied.

"Go back on it!" he told me. "And take me with you!"

There was the sound of a gunshot.

The man screamed and continued running.

"RUN!!!!!" he demanded.

"Okay," I said, my voice trembling. "I'll run."

I ran past some people that were in the area.

I didn't know exactly where I was running to, but I may as well run. Maybe I'd find Richard or the Utonium's.

Or maybe I could just head back to the suburbs and hide inside Richard's deserted home.

But I wasn't gonna be able to get that far.

So I ran toward the closest place I could find.

Pokey Oakes Kindergarten.

I ran inside and ducked under one of the tables.

I tried to pretend I was safe one more time.


	15. I'm a Super GirlThe Day is Saved

This is Megan's last battle with the villains of Townsville. She breaks Snake, Arturo, Billy, and Grubber out of jail and they help her rescue the Utonium's and Richard from Mojo Jojo.

Ace and Megan's relationship gets stronger than ever.

...........

Author's note: I DO NOT OWN THE POWER PUFF GIRLS! CRAIG MCCRACKEN AND WARNER BROTHERS DO!

...........

I'm a Super Girl/The Day is Saved

Chapter 16

I could hear the screaming coming from outside the Pokey Oakes walls. Tears filled my eyes. I wanted more than anything to find Richard and the Utonium's so I could make sure they were all safe, but I was too afraid to leave this room. _Terrified_.

Then suddenly the door burst open!

Fuzzy Lumpkins ran in through the door holding his shotgun up in the air over his head. "Look who it is!" he said with a smirk. "It's Megan Brody! Not so fearless now, huh?"

He pointed his shotgun in my direction and was about to shoot but I got up from under the table, accidentally hit my head on it as hard as I could, and then ran toward the back door.

Then he noticed his gun was out of bullets.

"Dangnamnit!" he shouted in frustration.

I pushed the back door open and fell down into a pool of something cold, wet, and slimy. I gasped and swam through it to get free. I shuddered and then ran as fast as I could when I figured out what it was.

I realized that I had just gotten trapped inside one of the Amoeba Boys!

"Uh… what did I just do?" I heard Bossman's voice say to the other two germs.

"I think you just got Megan sick," Slim told him.

"Oh!" Bossman laughed. "Wow! I actually did something right for once!"

I kept running while I was shivering. I sneezed. Uh oh. I had just gotten very sick. Maybe the Amoeba Boys really _were_ more dangerous than I had thought they were. I was mad about this.

I ran past the Pokey Oakes playground and made my way back toward the city. I was cold all over. I rubbed my arms with my hands to keep them warm. But it was no use. I kept coughing and sneezing and shivering. I shouldn't have ever doubted those guys.

There was mayhem everywhere in the streets of Townsville.

It seemed hopeless. Where was I supposed to run? There were villains and monsters everywhere I turned. I was surprised the Gangreen Gang hadn't broken out of jail to join the battle.

I ran past the broken power plant building, wondering if my father was, by chance, anywhere around there.

Then I realized it wasn't such a good idea to have gone over there. There were the Rowdy Ruff Boys. They were laughing crudely and pointing right at me.

"You turned blue!" Boomer cackled.

I looked at my skin. I wasn't exactly _blue_. My skin had just gotten so pale that it almost _looked_ blue. I blamed the Amoeba Boys for it.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"You know what?" I said to the Rowdy Ruff Boys. "I'm not gonna let ya'all bother me right now. I'm in a hurry. I have to find my dad."

"Megan Brody," said a shrill voice that chilled every bone in my body. It was HIM. He appeared behind his adopted sons and smirked at me. "I just _knew_ you would come back to try to save your father. You're just that clever, that brave, and that kind."

"That's right," I said. "And you're not gonna stop me… _ACHOO!"_

Him chuckled. "Gesundheit."

"No thank you," I muttered.

"Oh, but, dear," he said putting his lobster claw up to his mouth. "You're much too _sick _to save the world. You might as well just go back home and find a bed to lie in before it's too late."

"I'm not gonna listen to you," I said. "I'm gonna look for my dad, regardless of being sick or not. So if you'll excuse me."

His eyes turned bright white.

"NO! YOU ARE NOT EXCUSED!"

A really weird blinding flash of light hit me!

I screamed and fell backwards.

I tried to get up but then realized that every single bone in my body was broken. "What's going on?" I wanted to know.

_"Well, _Megan," Him said smiling innocently.

"_What?"_ I snapped.

"Your leg was broken, so I thought 'Her leg is broken. The poor thing! Let me help her out and break her _other _leg and her arm _too!_ She'll thank me one day!'" Him said in an evil voice.

I glared at Him and struggled to get up.

I tried to pretend the pain wasn't there. I moved as quickly as I could toward another building. I could hear the Rowdy Ruff Boys laughing behind me.

"You're not going _anywhere!"_ Him snapped.

He suddenly grew to giant size and began spitting balls of fire in my direction!

For a moment I thought this was all just a very vivid nightmare, but then I realized that was just what I _hoped _it was. It was real as anything.

Right across the street was the Jail Building.

I had to make it there.

But suddenly Him grabbed me with his enormous lobster claw and lifted me into the air. "Prepare to die, Megan Brody," he growled in a rare, manly voice I didn't hear him use much.

"Ew! Him!" I said sneakily. "Ugh! Look at you!"

"Huh? What?!" he asked in a panicking voice.

"Er! Help me! I've been blinded!" I exclaimed.

"What is it, you fool?" he demanded to know.

"That skirt looks _horrible_ on you!" I gasped.

"Excuse me!" Him said angrily.

"No, really," I insisted. "I'm just warning you for future reference. It would really suck if one day someone were to break the truth to you in such a rude, cruel way. I wouldn't steer you wrong."

Him looked down at his skirt. He screamed and let go of me. I crashed onto the ground. Hurt again.

"You're right!" he gasped. "Why did I think I could pull off a mini?"

"Don't worry, honey," I said, heading toward the Jail Building. "We've all been there."

If anyone was attacking the jail I would stop them. I wasn't gonna let anybody go near the Gangreen Gang.

But there was nobody over there at the moment so I figured they were okay.

I considered freeing them right then.

Maybe they'd be useful to have on my side if we fought against the villains together. Then I ran inside the Jail Building, searching for the delinquents.

As I ran past tons of cages I heard wolf whistles. I rolled my eyes and ignored all of them. I needed to find the Gangreen Gang. I wasn't gonna free any other criminal. They could just dream on.

Then at the end of the first floor I saw the cage that contained Snake, Grubber, Big Billy, and Little Arturo. Snake was lying on the bottom bunk of a bed and Billy was lying (actually, _squishing)_ the top bunk. Grubber was sitting on the middle of the floor and Arturo was sitting on the far corner of the room.

When they saw me they all ran right up to the bars.

"Megan!" they exclaimed. "Are you gonna let us out? We're so sorry for everything we've done to you! We're so sorry! Please forgive us! So sorry!"

"_Sure_ you are," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"No, come _on!"_ they insisted.

"Don't waste your breath," I told them. "I'm gonna let ya'all out regardless of whether or not you're really sorry."

"YAY!" they said gratefully.

I pulled on the bars. "Urgh. I don't know how to open this cage. I don't have a key, nor do I have super strength or anything like that."

I could hardly keep myself standing up, so I slowly and gradually sank down to the ground.

"Here! Take this!" Little Arturo advised, handing me something shiny and sharp.

I glanced down at it. There was a small button on it. I pressed it. A comb was revealed. "A _comb?"_ I asked, giving Arturo a look. "A comb is gonna help me open this cage?"

"Yes," Arturo said. "Stick the end of it through the lock."

I shrugged. "Okay. Guess that'll work."

I stuck the end of the comb through the lock and turned it to the left as if it was a key. The cage automatically opened. The Gangreen Gang cheered and ran into the hallway for freedom.

"No offense, ya'all, or anything," I said weakly. "But I'm an ill cripple at the moment so I was wondering if ya'all could slow down just a little, _tiny_ bit."

The Gangreen Gang members nodded at one another. They walked back up to the cage they had been trapped behind. Billy grabbed one of the bars and broke it in half. Then he handed the halves to me.

"Thanks," I said. "I have _no_ idea what I'm supposed to do with these."

"Crutches!" Billy explained.

"Oh! Crutches," I said. "Thank you very much."

I put one of them under one of my arms and then the other one under my other arm.

"You guys are actually kinda smart," I said.

"It's no trouble at all, senorita," Arturo said.

"Pbbt!" Grubber added.

"Wait a second!" I said after counting all the members in front of me. "There's only four of you! Where's Ace?"

Something crash landed inside the Jail building.

"Come on. We gotsssss to getsssss out of here," Snake said, gently guiding me out of the building.

Then we were outside the building. I was mad.

"Where is Ace?" I demanded to know.

"He'sss ssssstill in there," Snake explained. "He was in the cage upssssstairsssss. He had asssked to be ssssseperated from usssssss."

"We can't leave!" I argued. "You must take me to Ace! I have to see him!"

Snake put his cold hand on my cheek and stroked it, apparently trying to calm me down. But it didn't work. "You've _gotta_ take me to Ace!" I said.

We suddenly saw Princess flying in the air by jet pack.

Weird sight.

"Pbbt!" Grubber exclaimed.

"Couldn't have sssssaid ssssso better myssself," Snake agreed.

"What? What did he say?" I asked curiously.

"Here's what you get for not making me a Power Puff Girl!" Princess shouted pointing a small yellow laser in my direction.

Snake pulled me out of the way.

"What's going on?" I asked, in a confused state.

Grubber swallowed all the lasers from Princess's jet pack and spat them out back on her!

"_Eeee-ew!"_ she said in disgust, falling down on the hard sidewalk.

Snake helped me keep up with the other Gangreener's as we started running to nowhere in particular.

"Snake, just curious," I said. "Where are we going?"

"We're going to Mojo'sss tower," he replied.

I cringed. "Why are we going _there?"_

"Cause that'sssss where your father and the Power Puff Girlsssss are," Snake replied.

"Oh."

So we got to the front door of Mojo's tower.

Billy slammed his fists as hard as he could into it so he could try to get it open. He started crying. "WAAAGGGGHHHH! Door made of steel!"

"Step back," Little Arturo said, walking up to the door. He slipped his comb through the little security box. The doors automatically opened. "Get inside, amigos."

They all ran inside.

I mussed Arturo's hair as I passed him.

We ran through the gray, empty halls. I gasped when I heard Mojo's laughter echo off the walls.

"He gotsssss them," Snake said frowning.

"Billy stop Mojo!" Billy announced.

I heard someone scream. It was coming from outside Mojo's tower so; at least, it wasn't coming from Richard or the Power Puff Girls.

We reached the elevator. There was a sign next to the elevator that read MAXIMUM: 1000 POUNDS. We all glanced at Billy.

"Hey!" he said, crossing his arms.

"Nah, he'sss not _that_ big," Snake said, waving the idea away with his hand.

The elevator moved up toward the top of the tower. It opened on some random floor. I could hear Mojo speaking but not what he was saying.

"What's going on?" I asked.

We walked over to a large room that was open. We saw what was going on. It was something that really _could_ have come out of a nightmare.

There were gray walls and white lights and machines everywhere. There were long white platforms that each of the Power Puff Girls and the Professor were standing on.

Then I looked up and saw Mojo inside a little glass tower. I gasped. He was sitting next to Richard, who had duct tape covering his mouth.

"Now, Utonium's, you must be willing to face your doom," Mojo said through a microphone with a big grin on his face. "In other words, you've gotta be ready to meet your end."

I looked around at the platforms the Utonium's were standing on. They looked like ordinary ground. The Utonium's could have walked off whenever they felt like it.

"Why don't they move?" I whispered.

"Now, Utonium's, I would like for you to look around at the set up you are apart of," Mojo said. "I am currently inside the controls room, or in other words, I am inside the room that has tons of buttons in it I use to make everything in this lair work.

"Right now, my friends, you are standing upon solid ground. But with one pull of this lever I can send all four of you hurtling to your doom into a fiery pit of lava! Mua ha ha ha ha!"

He pulled the lever slightly and the ground underneath the Utonium's began to shake. The Professor screamed. Bubbles started crying.

Mojo cackled. "I was only fooling you. I wasn't _really_ going to pull the lever at that exact moment. But I _will_ pull it if you are to get me angry."

"What are we going to do?" I asked Snake.

"Hmm, I don't know," he replied. Then he looked over at Big Billy. "Hey, Billy!" he said. "You like lights?"

"Uh…yeah!" Billy said in response.

"Well, there'sss a light sssswitch right outssside that door," Snake explained. "And if you flip the sssswitch every light in thisss lair will go on!"

"Uh… okay!" Billy said, hopping up and down.

Little Arturo fell over.

"No, don't do that, Billy!" Snake whisper-shouted. "You're gonna let Mojo know we're here. What I wantsss you to do issss leave the room and flip the light sssswitch on and off repeatedly, okay?"

"Okay!" Billy said running out the door.

Snake helped me over to some machine-type thing we could hide behind.

"Um, may I ask how Billy playing with the light switch is going to help our situation right now?" I asked Snake.

He looked at me. "Billy issss going to be the disssstraction. Mojo will hear him and leave the room ssssso we can sssave the Utonium'sss and your dad."

"Oh," I said. "That's mean to do that to Billy."

Snake shrugged. _"Ssssomeone_ needsss to do it."

Then was when every light in the lair went on.

Mojo's cackling silenced.

The Utonium's looked around confusedly.

Richard's eyes widened.

"I am getting the feeling that somebody is here in my lair who isn't supposed to be in here at the moment," Mojo said.

He stood up and turned around to give Richard one last look before he left the controls room. "Don't move a muscle," he told him.

Then he shut the door behind him.

He glared at each of the Power Puff Girls as he passed by them as if he was trying to find any evidence that one of _them _magically were messing with the lights. They stared back innocently.

Then when he passed Snake, Arturo, and I, I noticed that he was wearing nothing but a white towel around his waist. He had nothing covering his nasty monkey chest. I wanted to scream when I saw that huge brain standing on top of his head, but I figured that would blow our cover, so I didn't.

And then he was gone.

Mojo had left the building.

Or, at least, the room.

We waited a moment and listened.

"Well, hi!" we heard Billy's voice say.

"What is the meaning of this?" Mojo asked. "What are you doing here, you insolent, immature fool? Why are you in my lair?"

"My friend Snake told me that he wanted me to flip the light switch on and off repeatedly," Billy explained.

"Oh he _did,_ did he?" Mojo said.

Snake groaned. "Always leave it to Billy to explain every detail!"

"What are we going to do, Snake?" Arturo asked.

Snake was obviously the leader when Ace wasn't around.

"You are nothing but an annoyance," said Mojo to Billy. "Now if you excuse me, I am going to go back into that room so I can succeed in my most diabolical plan yet to take over the world."

"We are going to sssstart Phasssse Two of our plan," Snake whispered to Arturo. "But we have to wait jusssst one second for Grubber to do his thing."

"Where _is_ Grubber?" I asked, suddenly noticing he'd been gone for a while.

"Mojo Jo Jo!" said a very familiar voice over the intercom system. "I'm watching you! I will not allow for you to harm the Utonium's or my father!"

"Megan!" Mojo gasped.

"What?" I said confusedly. "I'm right here."

Arturo giggled. "We know that," he said.

"Then what the heck's going on?" I asked.

"Grubber'sss extremely talented at impresssionsss," Snake explained.

"Oh," I said nodding.

Then Grubber's impression came again, "I'm not going to let you hurt them without a fight!"

Mojo let out an amused chuckle. "A fight, huh?" he said. "Let's just see how able she is to fight back when I get a hold of her."

Then I heard his footsteps walk farther into the hall.

"Hey!" Billy said confusedly. "I thought Megan was in _there!"_

Arturo and Snake opened the door, grabbed their friend, and pulled him into the room before shutting the door. Snake pat Billy annoyedly on the back.

"Yessss, Billy, Megan _issss _in here. That'ssss _Grubber _talking over the intercom ssssyssstem. We're usssing _him_ as a disssstraction instead of you."

"Oh," said Billy, staring at the ground.

"Very weird," I muttered. Then I looked at them. "Okay, so, what are we supposed to do before Mojo figures out he's been tricked?"

"Here'ssss what we needsss to do," Snake said. "Billy and I needsss to go up and ressscue Richard. He'sss up in the air, which issss to high for Megan to get to with all her injuriesss. Arturo and Megan, you've got to sssave the Utonium'sss."

"Okay. Sounds like a plan," I said.

"Yes it does," Arturo agreed.

"Here we go!" Billy said excitedly as he and Snake ran over to the staircase which they needed to climb to get to Mojo's lair to get to Richard.

"Alright, Megan!" Arturo said, jumping up and giving me a hug. "Let's save those Power Puff Girls!"

"Uh, okay," I said, too startled to return the hug.

The Utonium's didn't seem surprised to see us when we came out of hiding, probably since they'd already seen Billy and Snake run by.

"Why's the Gangreen Gang here?" Buttercup wanted to know.

"Shh!" I said. "They're here to help."

Arturo, obviously very cautious around the girls, walked over to the Professor to let him know he was there to rescue him. I stayed with the girls.

"How can you trust them?" Buttercup asked.

"I can trust them because Ace isn't here," I replied. "They're not evil without him."

"It's good to see you, Megan," Bubbles said.

"It's good to see you too," I said. "Now I'm here. I want to know: why aren't you moving?"

"We _can't,"_ Blossom replied.

She attempted to lift her foot off the ground and of course failed. She did this to prove to me that she and her family were stuck on the ground.

"How do I get you unstuck?" I wanted to know.

"There's only one way," Blossom explained. "There's a hidden button somewhere in this tower. Mojo didn't tell us where it was. It could be _anywhere_. If you press it, we'll be free. Every invention in the tower will be shut off."

This stressed me out. It could be _anywhere!_

And I wasn't gonna be very good at traveling tonight since I was crippled.

"You don't _have_ to find it, Megan," Buttercup assured me. "It might be too hard on you."

"But it was nice knowing you," Bubbles sniffed.

This angered me.

"I'm not gonna let Mojo get away with this," I assured them. "And ya'all better start believing in me, because I've been the one rescuing you every day for the last two months."

"But look at you, Megan," Blossom said. "You've been destroyed. You're not gonna be able to get out of here alive with all those injuries."

I frowned. "I'm gonna prove you wrong."

I looked over at Arturo. He was trying to lift the Professor's foot off the ground. "That's not gonna work, Arturo," I told him. "I'm gonna go look for the button that stops Mojo's machines. Make sure Snake and Billy bring Richard to safety."

I limped out the door before Arturo could say anything. All he said was, "Okay."

This volcano tower was _huge._ I wasn't gonna be able to find that small button if I looked in every room twenty five times.

When I was in the hallway I tried listening to the intercom system to see if Mojo had discovered Grubber or not, but I could hardly make out the static sounds that were coming from it.

I took the elevator up to Mojo's living room. It was the most peaceful place in the tower and an unlikely place for a powerful button to be in (which also meant it was the _most_ likelyplace for a powerful button to be in).

I sat on the couch, hoping I'd have a good view of the room so I could see whether the button was there or not. (But I was also sitting on the couch since I was so badly injured and wanted to rest.)

Then I looked up and saw a television set in front of me. I could watch some television to get my strength back. There were two remotes sitting on the arm rests of the couch. I picked up one of them, pointed it at the TV, and pressed a blue button.

Nothing happened.

Something told me that wasn't the remote for the TV.

I gasped. Instead of turning the TV on, every light in the room went on. Then I noticed that there were only two other buttons on that remote. One of them was green and the other one was red.

Something was telling me that the green button did something and the red button did something else. Maybe one of them controlled Mojo's inventions! But which one? There were no captions next to them. I was guessing it was the red button. Red buttons always controlled important things like machines.

So I closed my eyes and pressed the red button.

All of a sudden everything shut down.

I had been right!

The red button had shut everything down in the whole tower!

My heat beat fast as I waited in silence.

There were about ten minutes of nothing but silence. For a moment I got worried that maybe it had been the wrong button after all. Maybe it was some sorta button that caused an explosion downstairs that killed the Utonium's, Richard, the Gangreen Gang, and Mojo Jo Jo all at the same time!

The worry got me so upset that I had to run over to the sink to throw up. It was either from the worry or from the Amoeba Boys germs. Then I limped back over to the couch and continued to worry.

Right before I fell asleep the door burst open!

Mojo was standing in the doorway. He looked furious. I gasped and tried to stay perfectly still. The couch wasn't facing the door so maybe he hadn't seen me yet. Maybe he didn't know I was there. But I only wished I had been so lucky.

I curled up in a little ball on the couch and hid under an old blanket that had been sitting on one of the arms of the couch. I would try to be unnoticeable.

I listened to him walk around the room.

Then suddenly he took the blanket off of me!

"Oh my God!" I gasped.

He smirked at me. "Aww, that was so cute!" he said mockingly.

"I'm not here!" I said pathetically. "I'm over by the intercom thingy."

"You don't have to lie anymore, Megan," Mojo said. "I know your friends were helping you out."

"Well…well…" I didn't know what to say anymore. I was so stupid. I didn't even realize I was still holding that remote in my hand.

"I see you found my remote," Mojo said grinning. "You've always been very clever, though you've always been very weak."

He lifted one of his disgusting monkey hands and started stroking my hair with it. I cringed and hit him across the face as hard as I could with a pillow.

"Ow!" he said, putting his hand to his nose.

I somehow crawled off the couch and started toward the door. I wasn't very fast since I was still attempting to recover from everything that had happened to me that night from catching a cold from the Amoeba Boys to being wounded in fifty different places by Him. I didn't need Mojo to give me crap.

"I wouldn't try to escape if I were you!" Mojo shouted. He randomly held up some yellow laser in the air and pointed it at me! He pressed a button and then the laser hit me in the back, causing me to fall frontward on the ground. I grasped my abdomen and cried out in pain.

He cackled evilly and came up from behind me.

"The Gangreen Gang has escaped with the Utonium's and Richard Brody," he said, kneeling down. "They will all leave this tower safely, but YOU WON'T! Nobody will be able to spare you from what I am about to do to you," Mojo said evilly.

I closed my eyes helplessly.

Before he _could_ do anything, the Power Puff Girls burst through the door! Buttercup punched Mojo in the face as hard as she could, sending him flying into a wall! Bubbles grabbed his laser and held it right up to his head.

"Don't you move!" she screamed in her high, squeaky little voice.

The Gangreen Gang, Richard, and Professor Utonium came in through the door.

"Don't even _think_ about it, Mojo," Blossom said, putting her hands on her hips.

"Megan, are you okay?" Richard asked, kneeling down beside me. I held onto his coat with all the strength that was left inside of me.

The Gangreen Gang stood behind the Power Puff Girls. They all glared angrily at Mojo and cracked their knuckles to let him know that if he messed with the girls, me, or anyone else, he would get it.

"Okay, let me explain," Mojo said. "Just, would you give me a second to explain?"

"No, Mojo!" Blossom snapped. "No more chances! You're going to jail tonight and this time you're not going to break out!"

"You're done, Mojo Jo Jo," Snake said, intensely. "We alwaysss knew that big, nasssty brain of yoursss would get you in sssome ssseriousss trouble sssome day."

Mojo glared at Snake. "Puh-lease! You think I'm afraid of _you? _That Mojo Jo Jo is afraid of any of _you?!_ All I see before me is three little female toddlers, four very misguided teenaged boys, one lazy single father, one harebrained inventor, and some battered chick who's just about met her end. I'm not afraid of any of YOU!"

"But you _will_ be, Mojo!" Buttercup assured him.

Suddenly I couldn't see anymore.

I only saw a big blur.

"Megan?!" Richard said in a concerned tone of voice.

"Dad…" I said faintly.

Then I heard the Professor's voice say, "She's losing consciousness!"

The Professor put his hand under the back of my head so it wouldn't hit the ground. Then he held me in his lap. "We gotta get her to a hospital as soon as possible."

"Okay," Richard said. "Boys! Girls! We need some help! We need to get Megan to a hospital!"

"Who's gonna deal with Mojo?" Blossom asked curiously.

"Let him be!" the Professor said.

"But Professor!" Buttercup whined.

"Don't 'but, Professor' me!" the Professor snapped. "Mojo's gotten away with many crimes in the past. Just let him be. We can't worry about him anymore right now. We just need to get Megan to a hospital very quickly."

That was when I fell asleep.

A week later I was sitting on my wheelchair, waiting outside the Townsville Jail. I'd already talked to the cop and he told me to wait out here.

I wasn't ready to see Ace's reaction to me being wrapped in casts and sitting instead of standing. I knew it would hurt him, but I just needed to see him. And I'd caught a bad flu from the Amoeba Boys, but I just couldn't stay home today.

They'd done so much with me at the hospital. I'd been given surgeries, x-rays, shots, and so many other uncomfortable tests to make sure my body was still working the way it should have been.

I guess I would never be the same, physically, as I was before I arrived in Townsville. Or maybe if my mom would come back to get me and bring me back to New York for a while, I could completely recover over time. But not mentally.

Then the police man poked his head out of the doorway and smiled kindly at me. "He'll be out in a moment, Miss Megan," he said.

"Thank you, sir," I said in response.

He smiled one last time and went back inside. Then he came back outside once more. "Are you _sure_ you want this boy out of jail?"

"Positive," I replied.

Then the he came back outside with his hand firmly on Ace's shoulder. Ace was staring at the ground. I sighed when I saw him. I hadn't seen him in so long. He was wearing the same brown coat I'd only seen him wear a couple of times.

"He's all yours, Megan," the police man said. "But remember, just give us a call if he's any bother to you."

"Don't worry, officer," I said. "I think he's done making trouble."

The officer nodded and went back inside.

"I told you not to free me," Ace mumbled.

"And I told you I wasn't gonna listen to you," I said in response.

He finally looked up at me. I saw his glasses fog up quickly. "What…what happened to you?" he asked shakily. "What…who did this to you?"

"It's okay," I assured him. "I'm just a little hurt, that's all."

"A _little?"_ he repeated, hysterically. "You look a little bit more than a little hurt to me. I didn't want you to continue fighting crime. You're not a Power Puff Girl, Megan. You may think you are, but you're not, and you'll never be one."

"You don't have to worry about me, Ace," I said, wheeling closer to him. "I'm fine. The good news is that all the villains are behind bars for now."

"And I should be one of them," Ace sniffed.

"And what good would it do for you to be behind bars with them?" I asked, reaching my hand up to stroke his greasy black hair. "You wouldn't fit in among them. _Any_ of them. They're all monsters."

"I'm a monster too," Ace sighed sadly.

"Ace," I said, squeezing the end of his hair. "You're the farthest thing from a monster I've ever seen in my life."

Then he grabbed my hand and kissed it. He put it against his cheek and rocked back and forth. "I don't deserve you," he sobbed. "You don't deserve this. Look at you. You're practically destroyed. And it's all because you had to come to this horrible place."

"Destroyed?" I chuckled. "Ace, I've felt more alive than ever since I came here. It's as if I've been asleep my whole life and I've finally woken up. And it's especially all thanks to you."

"You don't know what you're saying," Ace said, shaking his head.

"I know _exactly _what I'm saying," I corrected him. "And one day you'll know I'm right."

Ace bent down to give me a hug. I embraced him and didn't let go for the longest time.

When he let go, he wiped his nose with his sleeve and said, "This is one of the saddest moments in my life…seeing you…hearing this…"

"Really?" I said. "Cause this is one of the happiest moments in _my_ life."

"How can you even say that?" he asked, lowering his head.

"I don't care whether you believe me or not, Ace," I told him.

"Next time I get arrested, you better leave me in jail," he said.

"You wish," I chuckled. "Every time you get arrested, I'm gonna be a few steps behind you, ready to bail you out again. It's my obligation."

Ace smiled a little. "I have no idea what that big word means, but I guess that doesn't really matter."

I laughed. "Maybe I'll tell you one day."

"Why are you so good to me, Megan?" he wanted to know.

"Funny," I said. "I was about to ask the same question about _you."_

Ace half-smiled and shook his head. "No, you weren't."

"I'm serious," I protested.

"If you _were,_ then that would be very sad indeed," he said.

"I know you honestly don't think that," I teased.

"You could have said that before I met you," he pointed out. "But now it's the honest truth."

He walked slowly past me like he was gonna leave.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"Uh… back to the dump," he replied.

"Okay," I said.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna hang with the guys," he said.

"Hey, Ace," I said.

"Yeah?"

"Tell them they should be really proud of their leader."

Ace gave me one last smile and walked away.

I counted the steps he took until I couldn't see him anymore.

I had a feeling he was going to continue to cause trouble in Townsville, but I wasn't even gonna try to stop him. There was no keeping Ace down. He was just a force to be reckoned with, as I was.

After doing some thinking I wheeled my way home.

I passed every single place that had been significant to my life in Townsville on the way back to my suburban home.

There were so many places I'd gone to in this town, and now it seemed like a ghost town as I passed.

But there was no place I'd rather live.

This was the only place I wanted to live in.

I wanted to attend Pokey Oakes High School, and I wanted to participate in community service activities for the city. I wanted to be a real citizen of the city of Townsville.

Nobody was home when I wheeled through the door. There had been thousands of people at my house over the last few days to celebrate my heroism, but they must have already all left. Richard was probably out on another date with Ms. Bellum. He'd always been going on dates with her lately.

So I did the usual. I slowly wheeled up the stairs and into my bedroom. That was where I got dressed into my t shirt and underwear. Then I would get off of my wheelchair and climb into bed. Then I would say a prayer and attempt to fall asleep.

Once I was in bed I reached over to my lamp on the table next to me and turned it off so I could sleep.

Right when I did that, Ace entered the room.

"Ace," I said. "I thought you went back to the dump."

"I was going to, but then I changed my mind," he explained. "I just… I just can't leave you alone."

I smiled. "Then you don't have to."

He smiled and approached me.

He knelt down beside the bed so he could kiss me on the lips. I kissed back. We just sat there kissing for a little while.

"You're my Super Girl," he said, squeezing my hand.

"Yeah," I chuckled. "As long as you're always gonna be the arch nemesis."

"Don't worry," he chuckled. "I will be."

"Good," I said.

Then we kissed one more time.

Author's Note: Yay! Sorry the story was so long! This was actually a novel I wrote that was over twenty chapters long, but I converted it into chapters so I could turn it into a fanfiction story. I hope you liked it! Please feel free to ask any questions about the story! I'd love to answer them!


End file.
